Jimmy Butler, Golden State Warriors look to maintain momentum against Toronto Raptors in NBA
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Jimmy Butler’s presence has created scoring opportunities throughout the line-up for Golden State.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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SAN FRANCISCO – The Jimmy Butler trade continues to pay dividends for the Golden State Warriors, who are 15-3 since acquiring the six-time All-Star forward from the Miami Heat on Feb 6.
The Warriors (40-29) are poised to resume their climb up the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Western Conference standings when they face the Toronto Raptors (24-45) at Chase Centre in San Francisco on March 20 (March 21, Singapore time).
With guard Stephen Curry rested, Butler had 24 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds in Golden State’s 104-93 home victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on March 18. Curry is expected to return for the next contest.
Butler’s presence has created scoring opportunities throughout the line-up for Golden State. Brandin Podziemski scored 17 points against Milwaukee and Buddy Hield added 15 points off the bench.
“It’s why (Butler) is who he is. He commands so much attention. For us, that’s great because he’s allowing everybody else to get in their spots where they’re comfortable and either get lay-ups or open jump shots,” Warriors forward Draymond Green said.
Butler is averaging 17.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists in 17 games since joining the Warriors, who hold the sixth seed in the West.
Green has also played a key role in Golden State’s surge while making a strong case for his second NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award.
He helped limit Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo to 20 points – with just five field goals – and has a combined nine blocks in his past two games.
“Draymond, that defence on Giannis was incredible. Draymond showed why he is still one of the great defenders in the world. It wasn’t just the defence; it was the leadership, the energy,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Looking ahead, Golden State are seeking a split of the season series after Toronto earned a 104-101 victory when the teams met at Scotiabank Arena in Canada on Jan 13.
The Raptors fell to 8-25 on the road with a 129-89 loss to the Phoenix Suns on March 17.
Toronto struggled to keep pace with Phoenix while using their 30th starting line-up of the season. They finished shooting 35.6 per cent from the field and 28.6 per cent (10 of 35) from three-point range.
“It’s been awhile since we’ve had a game like this,” Raptors coach Darko Rajakovic said.
“All we’ve got to do is forget this one, fill the cup, bring the energy for the next one and continue competing. I don’t want to make any conclusions based on one poor performance.”
One bright spot in the loss was the play of centre Orlando Robinson, who had 12 points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench. The 24-year-old recorded three straight double-doubles earlier in March and has fit in well with the rebuilding Raptors.
“I love my teammates; they’re all nice and funny guys. As a unit, we just love competing. We’re all young, running around, guarding teams. We take joy in that. We feed off each other,” he said.
Over at the Crypto.com Arena on March 19, Luka Doncic raced to the 200th 30-point game of his career as the Los Angeles Lakers (43-25) took advantage of an under-strength Denver Nuggets (44-26) line-up to score a 120-108 home victory over their Western Conference rivals.
Slovenian star Doncic, once again spearheading the Lakers offence in the absence of the injured LeBron James, rattled in 31 points, with eight rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers cruised to a wire-to-wire win.
Over in the East, leaders Cleveland Cavaliers slid to their third straight defeat in a 123-119 loss to the Sacramento Kings at the Golden 1 Centre in California.
The Cavs fell to 56-13 after 27 points from the Kings’ DeMar DeRozan – one of seven Sacramento players in double figures. REUTERS, AFP
