Jimmy Butler and the Golden State Warriors are not completely out of the woods yet, but they can heave a sigh of relief after the X-ray result on his tailbone injury came back negative.
Butler awkwardly landed hard on his back in a scary fall with 1:51 left in the first quarter after Amen Thompson collided with him underneath the basket.
“I haven’t seen the replay,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr told reporters when asked what he thought of Thompson colliding with Butler. “I asked our guys behind the bench, and they just said it looked like there was some physicality on the rebound, and I think Thompson just inadvertently found himself underneath Jimmy just based on the tug-of-war that was going on there. So we didn’t think there was anything wrong with the play.”
The Warriors ruled Butler out for the remainder of the game because of a pelvis contusion, which hastened their 109-94 loss to the No. 2 seed Houston Rockets that tied their first-round series.
“I feel terrible for Jimmy,” Kerr said. Hopefully, he’ll be okay. He’s going to get an MRI tomorrow (Thursday).”
Butler immediately flew back to Golden State to have his MRI while the rest of the Warriors spent the night in Houston.
“Jimmy always says he’s going to be fine, but we have to wait to see the MRI [result],” Kerr added.
Jalen Green Torches Warriors
The Warriors were down eight when Butler left. Without Butler, the Rockets led by Jalen Green feasted on the Warriors’ suddenly vulnerable perimeter defense.
Green bounced back from a seven-point performance in Game 1 with a historic 38-point explosion in Game 2. He became the youngest player at 23 years and 74 days old in Rockets franchise history to score 38 points, surpassing franchise icon and Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon, who was 23 years and 95 days old on April 26, 1986, when he did the scoring feat.
Green also became the youngest guard in NBA history to record at least eight 3-pointers in a playoff game.
Behind Green, Alperen Sengun and Tari Eason, the Rockets built their largest lead, 40-20, midway through the second quarter.
Houston’s young trio combined for 45 points in the first half.
The Warriors had no answer, with only Stephen Curry scoring in double figures with 11 after the first two quarters.
Without Butler, the Rockets had one less defensive problem. They blitzed Curry, whom they held to 20 points on 6-of-15 shooting after scoring 31 on 12-of-19 shooting in Game 1.
Jonathan Kuminga Rusty in Series Debut
Filling in for Butler, Jonathan Kuminga was inserted back into the rotation. But after not playing the last three games, Kuminga was rusty. The 22-year-old forward shot a measly 4-of-12 from the field to finish with 11 points in 26 minutes.
Kuminga averaged 21.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists in four games against the Rockets in the regular season. It’s Kuminga’s second-highest scoring average against any single opponent this season.
If Butler misses Game 3, Kuminga will play a prominent role.
“Hopefully Jimmy will be able to play,” Kerr said. “But if not, we have to go through our options and put together a plan.”
