Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr ‘relatively optimistic’ injured Jimmy Butler will play Game 3
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Golden State Warriors' Jimmy Butler took a hard fall on a first-quarter foul by Houston’s Amen Thompson on April 23.
PHOTO: AFP
SAN FRANCISCO – Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr says he is “relatively optimistic” that Jimmy Butler will play Game 3 of their National Basketball Association (NBA) play-off series against the Houston Rockets despite suffering a pelvic bruise in the previous game.
The forward took a hard fall during a first-quarter foul by Houston’s Amen Thompson on April 23 and had an MRI exam the next day that revealed the extent of the injury.
With the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series tied at one game apiece, Butler was listed as “questionable” for Game 3 in San Francisco on April 26 (April 27, Singapore time).
“I’m relatively optimistic,” Kerr said on April 25.
“I mean, it’s Jimmy, and we know he’s willing to play through anything. So we’ll see. This is a day-to-day thing for sure, and we’ll see how he feels tomorrow. But I think there’s a chance he plays.”
Butler, who came down hard on his tailbone when Thompson hit him as he rose to grab a rebound, stayed in the game long enough to shoot two free throws, then departed and did not return.
The Rockets won 109-94 to level the series.
Butler averaged 17.9 points, 5.9 assists and 5.5 rebounds in 30 regular-season games for the Warriors after arriving in a February trade from the Miami Heat.
He scored 25 points in the Warriors’ Game 1 victory over the Rockets. Kerr acknowledged that his continuing absence would require adjustments, but would not alter the Warriors’ plan of attack against the Rockets.
“There’s not two game plans, but two rotations,” he added. “The game plan doesn’t change.”
In play-off action on April 25, the Los Angeles Lakers lost 116-104 to the Timberwolves in Minnesota despite 38 points from LeBron James.
Jaden McDaniels and Anthony Edwards led the scoring for the home side with 30 and 29 points respectively as they edged 2-1 ahead in their series.
Over in the East, the Orlando Magic held off defending champions the Boston Celtics 95-93 to cut the deficit in their matchup to 2-1, as the Milwaukee Bucks clawed back a game against the Indiana Pacers.
The Bucks, who like the Magic had dropped the first two games of their series on the road, also turned the tables upon returning home for Game 3 with a 117-101 victory over the Pacers.
The victories were crucial, with the Magic and Bucks both aware that no NBA team have come back from a 3-0 series deficit to win a play-off series. AFP
