Golden State Warriors’ Jimmy Butler III drives against Houston Rockets’ Fred VanVleet in Game 2 of First Round of NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
Scott Strazzante/S.F. Chronicle
Golden State Warriors wing Jimmy Butler will miss Game 3 of a best-of-seven playoff series Saturday with the Houston Rockets at Chase Center with a pelvic and deep glute contusion, leaving Jonathan Kuminga to start in his place.
Butler suffered the injury Wednesday after falling in the first quarter of a Game 2 loss when he was undercut by Houston’s Amen Thompson while securing a defensive rebound in traffic. He split two free throws and played 37 seconds before walking gingerly into the tunnel by Golden State’s bench.
An MRI Thursday was devoid of significant structural damage for Butler, who underwent treatment the last two days and attempted pregame Saturday to play.
Article continues below this ad
Without Butler (25 points, seven rebounds, six assists, five steals in Game 1) in their Game 2 loss, the Warriors turned again to Kuminga, who hadn’t played the previous three games: a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in the regular-season finale, the play-in tournament victory over the Memphis Grizzlies and a Game 1 victory over the Rockets.
In 26 minutes, Kuminga shot 4 of 12 – finishing with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal and block. Afterward, he said “I’ve just got to stay ready no matter what. You never know what’s going to happen. … I just went out there and just tried to do as best as I can. But we didn’t get the win, so hopefully we get the next one back home.”
Kuminga (15.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists in 47 regular-season games) averaged 21.3 points in four regular-season matchups with the Rockets, against whom he matches their length and athleticism at 6-foot-7, explosive and sturdy. In a November victory over Houston, Kuminga closed with six points in overtime. In a December victory over Houston, he led the Warriors with 33 points.
Absent Butler – with whom Golden State settled on a small-ball starting lineup with Draymond Green at center and Moses Moody on the wing – the Warriors altered their starting lineup to maximize their spacing. Green in the frontcourt joined Kuminga and sharpshooting big man Quinten Post (40.8% 3-point shooting in 42 regular-season games), who made 4 of 8 from 3-point range in Golden State’s Wednesday loss to the Rockets.
Article continues below this ad
Stephen Curry and Brandin Podziemski remained the starting backcourt.
Speaking pregame, Rockets head coach Ime Udoka said he prepared for Butler to play while noting Houston can skew its coverage more toward Curry in the case he didn’t.
“We prepped the whole week off for Butler to be there and obviously last game as well, he was out and you can put more of your focus on (Stephen) Curry and certain guys,” Udoka said. “But anticipation that he’s going to play, we prep like he is and if he isn’t we’ll do what we did last game and just key in a little bit more but obviously the dynamic he gives them another scorer, facilitator, 1A, 1B combo with Curry is very important to them obviously. We’re going into it as if he’s playing.”
Game 4 is Monday at Chase Center.
