Just seven minutes into a hard-fought Game 2 contest, Jimmy Butler hit the ground hard while battling Amen Thompson for a rebound. He landed on his lower back or butt, but the force of the landing clearly rattled him, and he left the game with a pelvis injury.

His status for Game 3 is up in the air, and he will receive an MRI on Thursday that should provide more details.

Fans were quick to call Tjompson a dirty player, and the contact clearly was not clean, although it looked to be a bang-bang play. We won’t speculate on the intentions behind it, but we also won’t fault you for doing it.

Steve Kerr offered as much of an update as he could.

Mar 13, 2025; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr (right) confers with players Jimmy Butler III (10) and Gary Payton II (0) during the second quarter at Chase Center.

© D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

“Jimmy always says he’s going to be fine,” said Steve Kerr after the game. “We’ll have to wait to see with the MRI.”

Expect an update on the injury front. As far as the intention behind Thompson getting in the mix, Kerr is giving him a pass.

“I asked our guys behind the bench, and they just said it looked like there was some physicality on the rebound,” said Kerr. “I think Thompson inadvertently found himself underneath Jimmy.”

Between Butler, Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody, Gary Payton II, Kevon Looney, and Brandin Podziemski, the Warriors have plenty of players who don’t mind an added element of physicality, and the Rockets, with Thompson, Dillon Brooks, and Jabari Smith Jr., are all prepared to answer.

Expect Game 3 on Satuday to be a little chippy as the Warriors host the Rockets. 

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