Jimmy Butler III of the Golden State Warriors and Bam Adebayo of the Miami Heat look on during the first quarter at Kaseya Center on March 25, 2025 in Miami.
Rich Storry/Getty Images
Minutes after the Golden State Warriors wrapped up a masterpiece 104-93 win against the Houston Rockets Saturday night, they got what could be an even bigger victory.
Jimmy Butler, who was ruled out shortly before tip-off of Game 3 with a deep glute muscle contusion that was bad enough that he “literally cannot move well enough to play basketball,” The Athletic’s Anthony Slater reported there’s real optimism Butler will be back for Game 4 on Monday in San Francisco.
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“Jimmy Butler worked out on the practice court pregame, per source,” Slater posted on social media minutes after the final buzzer sounded. “Medical team held him out to give body two more days to heal, but there’s a belief he will be back for Game 4 on Monday night with the Warriors searching for 3-1 series lead over the Rockets.”
Jimmy Butler worked out on the practice court pregame, per source. Medical team held him out to give body two more days to heal, but there’s a belief he will be back for Game 4 on Monday night with the Warriors searching for 3-1 series lead over the Rockets.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 27, 2025
Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he was “relatively optimistic” that Butler could play in Game 3 when speaking to the media on Friday. But after the star ended up not playing, Kerr stepped back from the optimism when asked after Saturday’s game.
“He’s literally day-to-day,” Kerr told reporters. “I have no idea right now if he’s going to play.”
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Butler suffered the injury following a hard fall in the Dubs’ Game 2 loss Wednesday to the Rockets in Houston. He lasted just 8 minutes in that game, flew home to San Francisco for an MRI (which ended up being negative), and was listed as questionable right up until about an hour before tip-off Saturday night.
His return would be a welcome one for Golden State. Butler was phenomenal in the Warriors’ Game 1 victory on the road, finishing with 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals. He was even more impressive in the Warriors’ seed-deciding 124-119 loss to the Clippers, finishing with a season-high 38 points.
On Saturday, the Dubs scrapped their way to a win without him. Stephen Curry kept Golden State in the game through three quarters thanks to a game-high 36 points, and the supporting cast joined the party in the fourth as Curry tallied five of his game-high nine assists. The Warriors, who entered the fourth trailing by two points, outscored Houston 35-22 in the fourth.
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Game 4 of the first-round playoff series is set to tip at 7 p.m. at Chase Center.
April 26, 2025
