Jimmy Butler issued an ultimatum to the Golden State Warriors after losing grip of the Western Conference semifinals series against the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 102-97 loss in Game 3.
“If we don’t win, we damn sure don’t have to worry about getting Steph back this year,” Butler told reporters after the loss. “We gotta put our big boy pants on and go out there and compete at a high level and get this one on Monday.”
Game 4 is a must-win situation for the Warriors.
A win will buy Stephen Curry more time as the Warriors star aims to return in Game 6. A loss would be devastating, as only 4.5% of NBA teams who faced a 3-1 series deficit have completed a comeback.
Butler poured 33 points in the Game 3 loss, going 12-of-26 from the field and 7-of-9 from the free throw line.
His last five points early in the fourth quarter gave the Warriors their last taste of the lead, 82-77, with 8:16 left. The Timberwolves stormed back with a 9-0 run to take an 86-82 lead. A Jaden McDaniels’ 3-pointer extended Minnesota’s lead to 90-84, and the Timberwolves never looked back.
Butler added seven assists and six rebounds in 43 minutes.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr was all praises for Butler, giving him credit for putting the Warriors in a position to win despite Curry’s absence and Draymond Green fouling out late in the game.
“Man, Jimmy was incredible,” Steve Kerr told reporters. “He really controlled the game for us and put us in a position to win, and we just couldn’t close it out. But he was brilliant all night.”
Steph Curry Takes Major Step in Injury Recovery
Getty Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors took the first major step in his recovery process from a hamstring injury.
Butler’s ultimatum to the Warriors came on the heels of Curry taking the first big step in his comeback bid.
According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Curry “went through a pretty strenuous workout” 90 minutes before the Warriors took a 102-97 loss in Game 3 on Saturday at Chase Center.
Slater added that Curry “didn’t push it to full speed, according to a team source.”
He’s yet to burst or cut or test that left hamstring in a manner that’ll deliver him and Rick Celebrini — the team’s lead medical decision maker — the true information they’ll need on whether the hamstring is healed enough to return deeper in this series. But he went through a medium-speed shooting routine and rode the stationary bike. This was a notable advancement for Curry in his race against time.
With Curry working hard to return, the onus is on Butler and the rest of the Warriors to buy him more time.
Jimmy Butler Laments Draymond Green Fouling Out
Losing Green down the stretch was a death blow for the Warriors.
Butler lamented Green’s absence, which undid the Warriors in crunch time.
“Obviously, he’s one of the top defenders in the world,” Butler said of Green. “For sure, [he’s] the best defender on this squad. When he’s out, it is just different. You don’t got nobody back there that’s quarterbacking the way that he does it, that can switch everything and that gets every loose ball and that can rebound.”
Green took his fifth and sixth fouls in a quick succession inside the final 4:56 of the game as the Warriors went down with him.
Without Green, the Warriors’ once-solid defense suddenly became vulnerable. The Timberwolves outscored the Warriors 18-15 the rest of the way.
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