The physicality and chippiness intensified to new heights during Game 4 of the Warriors versus Rockets first-round playoff series.
The second quarter of the game, which the Warriors won 109-106, included four technical fouls, one flagrant one foul, and at least two altercations. One of those tussles saw Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Dillon Brooks get into it when Green set a screen for Curry, and Brooks fouled the Warriors sharpshooter.
Brooks was incensed after he felt he was pushed by Curry, who responded by taunting the Rockets wing. Both men received technicals.
The chippiness persisted for most of the game, with Green and Brooks routinely in the middle of the action. There was also a sequence in the second quarter when Jimmy Butler III was heard using vulgar language directed at Brooks.
After the game, Butler didn’t hold back his true feelings on Brooks.
‘I Don’t Like Dillion Brooks’
Butler told reporters, “No, we’re not having fun. Get me on the record with this: I don’t like Dillon Brooks. We’re never having fun. I’m a fierce competitor. He’s a fierce competitor. There ain’t nothing fun about that.”
Some analysts felt that Brooks lit a fire under Butler by taunting him in the second quarter. Butler would score more than 90% of his points in the second half after struggling mightily through the first half.
“He scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half, 14 in the fourth quarter, and put the Warriors up for good with three free throws after Dillon Brooks (who jawed with Butler in the first half) committed a silly touch foul on a 3-point attempt,” wrote NBA.com’s Shaun Powell.
“Now that he’s healthy enough to play, the Warriors can expect more of this from Butler.
Jimmy Butler Plays Through Injury
The veteran Butler received a lot of praise, and deservedly so, for his herculean effort in playing 40 minutes of a playoff game less than a week after a devastating fall.
“He played through the injury,” Green said of Butler, via ESPN. “Was beautiful. But what his presence does for this team is humongous. The first three quarters, he couldn’t move. Not sure how he started moving in the fourth quarter, but he never complained. He stuck with it.
“I think what was most important, when the time was right, everybody on our side looked to get him the ball. When you get him the ball, he made great things happen for himself or for others. It was huge. I think my favorite play was the last rebound. I looked up, I thought it was [young and athletic Jonathan] Kuminga out there flying. It was Jimmy.”
Head coach Steve Kerr praised Butler for making crucial plays down the stretch, including collecting a defensive rebound and making two free throws. Kerr noted that Butler would have likely missed “another week or two” if it were the regular season.
“But it’s the playoffs,” Kerr said. “He’s Jimmy Butler, so this is what he does. The rebound at the end was just incredible, the elevation, the force. Then, of course, knocking down the free throws to clinch it. Jimmy was just amazing.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Warriors’ Jimmy Butler Sends Strong Message to Dillon Brooks appeared first on Heavy Sports.