SAN FRANCISCO (AP) 鈥� Warriors forward Jimmy Butler was listed as questionable for Game 3 of Golden State's first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets after he sustained a pelvic contusion in a frightening fall during Game 2.
鈥淚鈥檓 relatively optimistic, I mean Jimmy鈥檚 Jimmy. We know he鈥檚 willing to play through anything, so we鈥檒l see,鈥� coach Steve Kerr said Friday. 鈥淭his is a day-to-day thing for sure and we鈥檒l see how he feels tomorrow. But I think there鈥檚 a chance he plays.鈥�
Butler flew home from Houston and underwent an MRI exam Thursday in the Bay Area that revealed he injured his pelvis and has a deep gluteal muscle contusion. The team announced the update Friday, with the best-of-seven series tied at one game apiece as it shifts to Chase Center in San Francisco for Game 3 on Saturday night. Game 4 is Monday.
Butler, who has taken pressure off Stephen Curry by contributing on both ends since arriving in the Bay Area earlier this year in a trade from Miami, went down hard when fouled by Amen Thompson late in the first quarter and then missed the rest of the on Wednesday night.
and sent the Warriors star's feet high into the air so that he came down straight onto his tailbone. Both players thudded to the floor and Butler grimaced in pain grabbing at his backside. He stayed in briefly to shoot two free throws before going to the locker room.
鈥淥bviously, he鈥檚 a huge part of what they do,鈥� Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. 鈥淚solation scorer, cross matches, he likes to hunt those, so you can key in on Curry a little bit more obviously with him not on the court. And I think we did that for the most part.鈥�
Houston's and instead said, 鈥淚 think the dirty player is Draymond (Green).鈥�
When told Friday of Brooks' comment, Kerr said: 鈥淒illon said that? Interesting.鈥�
during Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals fractured Payton鈥檚 elbow. He returned for Game 2 of Golden State鈥檚 six-game NBA Finals victory over Boston.
The Warriors are counting on the do-everything Butler if they want to make a deep run.
In the Game 1 win against the Rockets, he had 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in 42 minutes of action. The Warriors are 25-9 since Butler made his debut at Chicago on Feb. 8, including 23-8 in the regular season, a play-in tournament win over Memphis and the two games facing Houston.
Now, if need be, Kerr will do his best to capitalize on the depth that has been an asset all season 鈥� 鈥渘ot two game plans but two rotations for sure, the game plan doesn鈥檛 change,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a pain tolerance thing, that鈥檚 why it鈥檚 day to day,鈥� Kerr said of Butler's status.
Jonathan Kuminga hadn't been on the court at all the previous three games but was called into the rotation with Butler hurt, and Brandin Podziemski played through an illness with his team short-handed 鈥� even receiving intravenous fluids at halftime.
He thinks he had food poisoning from seafood he ate. Now, Podziemski is ready to go and handle any load needed no matter Butler's availability and also to assist Curry.
鈥淓verybody's going to step up and play a better role when he's not out there,鈥� Podziemski said. 鈥淥bviously it helps that we're at home so role players, it makes it easier for them because the crowd's playing with them. I think everybody's just going to step up and play better. It's the first home playoff game for many of us.鈥�
Kerr said Curry had suffered similar injuries to what Butler is going through.
鈥淚鈥檝e had that happen a couple of times and you know exactly what it is. It鈥檚 a matter of how bad it was and I don鈥檛 know," Curry said after the game. "But it definitely changed the dynamic of our offense. Him and BP played a combined 21 minutes, so it kind of shuffled all the rotations a little bit.鈥�
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AP Sports Writer Kristie Rieken in Houston contributed to this report.
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AP NBA:
Janie Mccauley, The Associated Press
