HOUSTON – The Warriors entered Wednesday night’s game against the Rockets at Toyota Center with eyes on a 2-0 series lead.
After a disastrous first quarter, the Warriors were left hoping their championship hopes weren’t dashed when star Jimmy Butler suffered a pelvic contusion in a 109-94 loss to Houston that evened up the series.
The Rockets were up by double-digits for the entire second half, but that did not stop the game from ending on a contentious note.
In the fourth quarter alone, Jalen Green was called for a flagrant foul on Draymond Green, Draymond was whistled for a technical himself, and the teams had to be separated at midcourt.
It was an inglorious conclusion to a game that saw Butler exit in the first quarter.
Butler will receive an MRI on Thursday, and the Warriors will have another day off before playing in San Francisco on Saturday.
Butler’s injury occurred with 2:28 left in the first quarter, when Amen Thompson undercut the Warriors forward as Butler was grabbing a rebound. He landed flat on his back and remained down for several moments.
He was eventually able to get up under his own power and split a pair of free throws, but was quickly subbed out of the game and taken back to the locker room.
In Butler’s absence, Curry scored 20, seldom-used reserve Pat Spencer added 11 off the bench and Jonathan Kuminga scored 10 in 26 minutes.
It was Kuminga’s first game action since April 11 against the Blazers, as the forward didn’t play in the season finale against the Clippers, the play-in victory over the Grizzlies or Game 1 against the Rockets.
Despite being down by double-digits for the entire second half, the Warriors kept the score manageable until late. An 8-0 run keyed by Curry and Quinten Post 3-pointers cut the deficit to 91-79 with seven minutes remaining.
The Warriors had a chance to cut the lead to single digits when Draymond Green drew a flagrant offensive foul on Jalen Green a few seconds later.
But Draymond Green split the pair of foul shots, the Warriors came up empty on the ensuing possession. The Rockets closed the game out from there.
After outrebounding Golden State by 16 overall, and 22-6 on the offensive glass in Game 1, it was more of the same for Houston in the rematch while Merced native Jalen Green scored 38 on an assortment of layups, dunks and tough 3-pointers to lead the Rockets.
Houston dominated Golden State on the glass 47-33 on Wednesday.
Alperen Sengun had 17 points and 16 rebounds, and Tari Eason came off the bench to put up 14 points and six rebounds.
Butler was not the only Warrior who missed game time on Wednesday.
Starting shooting guard Brandin Podziemski had dealt with a stomach illness throughout the day, and although he was able to start Game 2, he left late in the first quarter and did not return until the third quarter.
The Rockets controlled the game from the start, taking a 28-18 advantage after one quarter, and a 60-46 lead into the halftime locker room.
The Warriors cut the lead to 79-68 with a Kevon Looney finger roll, and had some success with a 2-3 zone at times, but the Rockets retook momentum with a flurry of Jalen Green points, the most emphatic being an open-court poster dunk past Gui Santos.
Despite Golden State keeping the game within striking distance for much of the second half, the Rockets pulled away late in the fourth quarter.
The Rockets and Warriors — possibly without Butler — will tip off Game 3 at 7 p.m. Saturday at Chase Center.