SAN FRANCISCO – On a day when the Warriors celebrated one of the most beloved players in franchise history, Jimmy Butler III finally got his chance to show off for the Chase Center crowd.
It wasn’t very flashy or filled with brilliant highlights. It simply was Butler doing more of what he has done ever since arriving in town following a trade less than three weeks earlier.
The six-time NBA All-Star, who drew a rousing ovation from the home crowd during pregame intros, settled in like the savvy veteran he is before putting together yet another solid effort.
Butler scored 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting, led a team-wide assault on the free-throw line connecting on all eight attempts he took and dished out five dimes in the 126-102 blowout of former Warriors star Klay Thompson and the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday afternoon.
“You can tell our fans see the difference,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of the Butler addition. “They feel the moment just like we do. Sometimes you have to shake things up and we shook things up. It was a move that made sense, and so far it’s showing why.”
Butler has scored in double figures in each of the six games he has played in a Warriors uniform. In doing so, Butler firmly has established himself as the legitimate and consistent No. 2 scorer option behind Stephen Curry that Golden State has been searching for all season.
