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3 hours ago
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Despite a lot of uncertainty surrounding his status for Game 4, Jimmy Butler was still able to play through a pelvic injury that kept him out in the Golden State Warriors' Game 3 win against the Houston Rockets on Saturday.
Butler did not look fully healthy on Monday but the six-time All-Star was still able to go off for 27 points on 7-of-12 shooting, with five rebounds, six assists, a block and zero turnovers in 40 minutes of play.
Butler also made all 12 of his attempts from deep, which included two crucial makes with 4.0 seconds remaining in the game. Butler's clutch heroics from the charity stripe gave the Warriors a 109-106 lead, which ended up being the final score for Monday's tightly contested clash.
Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) celebrates towards guard Stephen Curry (30).
Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images
Speaking to reporters after the game, head coach Steve Kerr came to a rather surprising admission about Butler's injury status. According to the four-time NBA champion shot-caller, Butler would definitely be watching this game from the sidelines if this weren't the playoffs.
"Yeah, we had to have him," Kerr said on giving Butler heavy minutes despite his injury. "I mean, if this were the regular season, he'd probably miss another week or two.
"But it's the playoffs, and he's Jimmy Butler. So this is what he does."
Butler suffered his injury in Game 2 against the Rockets after a hard fall in the first quarter. He exited the game and was unable to return after being diagnosed with a pelvis contusion. The 35-year-old sat out Game 3 on Saturday, and he came into Monday's game with the questionable tag.
True enough, Kerr confirmed after the game that Butler would have, indeed, been sidelined by this injury if this were the regular season.
Game 5 of this series is on Wednesday in Houston, and there is no guarantee that Butler will be healthy enough to play for that one. However, if it were up to him, there's little doubt as to whether or not he'd like to be on the court for what could potentially be the close-out game of this first-round matchup.
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