Golden State Warriors point guard Jimmy Butler delivered 14 points and grabbed a crucial defensive rebound in the fourth quarter, helping his team clinch a 109-106 win over the Houston Rockets in Game 4. Despite nursing a pelvic injury that kept him out of the previous game, Butler played through the pain and made significant contributions to secure the Warriors’ spot within one win of advancing to the Western Conference semis.
Butler’s performance was pivotal in the decisive fourth quarter, as he scored 14 points and grabbed several rebounds while limiting Rockets center Alperen Sengun’s scoring opportunities. The game-saving stop by Butler on Sengun with 6.4 seconds remaining, which was rebounded by teammate Draymond Green, sealed the win for the Warriors.
“His presence does humongous things for this team,” said teammate Draymond Green, who praised Butler’s ability to play through injury and make clutch plays in key moments. Despite his injury, Butler was determined to contribute to the team’s success and got a boost from some pre-game trash talk from teammate Dillon Brooks.
The Warriors now look to close out the Rockets in Game 5 on Wednesday, with coach Steve Kerr acknowledging that this will be their toughest challenge yet. “They’re always the hardest ones,” Kerr said of close-out games. “Every team that’s in the playoffs, especially a team like Houston, 2 seed, 52 wins, big-time team.”
Source: https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/44912704/jimmy-butler-plays-pain-delivers-late-help-warriors-win-game-4-take-3-1-series-lead-rockets