11-05-2025
- Sport
- San Francisco Chronicle
Warriors got Playoff Jimmy in loss, but unphased Butler looks ahead to Game 4
Playoff Jimmy showed up and Playoff Jimmy balled out.
But it still wasn't enough for the Golden State Warriors, who find themselves in a 1-2 hole in the series going into Monday night's Game 4.
Jimmy Butler isn't worried. The man who led the Warriors in scoring with 33 points thinks his team proved something in Saturday's 102-97 loss to Minnesota.
'That we can compete without Steph,' Butler said. 'We're still as confident as ever. We're going back to the film and the drawing board and figure it out.
'And come back in here on Monday and get this thing to 2-2.'
The pessimist might say that the Stephen Curry -less Warriors blew their best chance to beat the Timberwolves on Saturday night, building a seven-point lead in the third quarter only to see it vanish in the fourth.
But the optimists — Butler among them — see a team that is figuring out a new chemistry on the fly and still had the T'wolves on the ropes almost the whole game. And, unlike any version of the Warriors since Kevin Durant's departure, even without Curry they still have a stone-cold playoff killer to turn to in Butler.
'He willed us all game,' said Buddy Hield. 'He's doing all he can do, man, and we just got to be ready to buckle down and give him some moral support. The role players need to help Jimmy out some more so that we can tie this up and go back to Minnesota.'
The Warriors definitely need to find offense somewhere else to complement Butler. Jonathan Kuminga broke out with 30 points but Hield was scoreless until the second half, when he scored 14 points and finally hit some three pointers through Minnesota's perimeter defense.
'I told (Curry), 'I'm getting Steph rules right now,'' Hield said, ''and I see what you go through.''
Brandin Podziemski continues to struggle in this series, going 1-for-10 in Game 3, to bring his series total to 6-for-26. Moses Moody, Quinten Post, Draymond Green and Gary Payton II combined to score just four points.
Filling that Steph-shaped hole is a problem.
'If you're coming in thinking there's pressure, like you've got to fill his role, you're crazy,' Hield said. 'He does so much for this team. Trust me, everybody would like to do it but he's touched by an angel, you know? He's touched by God.
'Our goal is to weather the storm until when we get (number) 30 back, because we know how elite we are with him. But I know we can beat these guys without him, too.'
For much of Game 3, the Warriors were right there. Because of Butler. For three quarters, Butler looked like he could get to the rim at will, and either draw the foul or make the shot. He was particularly dialed in during the third quarter, with four assists (three on three-point shots) and ten points, accounting for 21 of the Warriors' 31 points. He found Hield for two-three pointers and Podziemski for his only made shot of the night and put a spin move around Anthony Edwards for a layup that made the crowd go crazy. It looked like the Warriors might survive.
But as the Timberwolves' defense clamped down on Butler in the fourth quarter, it became more difficult. His last bucket came with 8:50 to play in the game, a three-point shot that got the Warriors' lead back up to five. His last free throws came on the next possession. He finished shooting 1-for-7 in the final quarter.
'When (Steph's) not out there, there's no room for error,' Butler said. 'You can't turn the ball over. You've got to take the right shots, move the ball the right way. Because he's the one individual for sure on this team, and maybe in the league, that can make sure you're never out of a game. So we've got to be better and limit our mistakes.'
Butler finished with 12 of 26 shooting (including two three-pointers), was 7-of-9 from the free-throw line and had seven assists and seven rebounds in 43 minutes of play. And he's still hurting from the injury he suffered in the Houston series.
'Jimmy was incredible,' Steve Kerr said. 'He really controlled the game and put us in a position to win. And we just couldn't close it out. But he was brilliant all night.'
Butler's nicknames — Playoff Jimmy, Jimmy Buckets — originated because of his playoff prowess. Saturday was the 24th time he has scored 30 or more points in a playoff game. He's scored 40 or more eight times, including his playoff high of 56 points against Milwaukee two years ago.
Is he the same player now?
'It hasn't changed,' Butler said. 'I know who I am as a player. I know what's needed of me on any given night. And it can change depending on who is in and out of the lineup.
'But it doesn't matter what part of my career I'm in. If it doesn't go towards winning, then it's all a waste. So whether I'm the player now or who I was X-amount of years ago, we didn't win tonight so none of that matters.'
After the game, Butler donned a powder blue Alo sweat suit, with matching sneakers, blew out his locker candle, and walked up to meet the media.
'We have to put our big boy pants on and go out and compete at a high level and get this one on Monday,' he said. 'And we can worry about the next one after that.'
Playoff Jimmy knows the drill.
