Jimmy Butler avoids fracture, but Game 3 availability reportedly in jeopardy with deep glute muscle contusion

The Golden State Warriors have reportedly avoided a worst-case scenario with Jimmy Butler, but they still might have to prepare for Game 3 against the Houston Rockets without him.

The six-time All-Star has been diagnosed with a deep glute muscle contusion and is in serious jeopardy of missing the Warriors’ game on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. Fortunately, his MRI showed no fracture or structural damage.

Butler sustained the injury in Game 2 on Wednesday, when a mid-air collision with Rockets star Amen Thompson left him landing hard on his tailbone in the first quarter. He remained on the ground in visible pain for some time and was soon ruled out for the rest of the game, a 109-94 Rockets win.

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Losing Butler as well as Brandin Podziemski, who temporarily left the game with an illness, had the Warriors digging deep into their bench. By the time Butler was ruled out, head coach Steve Kerr had entered 12 different players in the game, and he indicated after the game Butler being unavailable would mean further churning of his rotations.

Butler was a significant difference-maker in the Warriors’ Game 1 win, with 25 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals in a 95-85 Golden State win. That matched his regular-season impact, as the Warriors went 23-7 with Butler in the lineup after acquiring him from the Miami Heat at the trade deadline.

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