Game 2 wasn’t pretty for the Jimmy Butler-led Warriors, losing by 24 points. But on Saturday, Golden State kept it much closer, but still fell to Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves 117-93 in Game 3, falling into a 1-2 hole.
With Curry out for a second-straight game, Butler did everything he could to keep his team afloat. However, the former Miami Heat star’s efforts fell short as the Timberwolves gained the lead with just under seven minutes to play, never looking back.
Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III
© David Gonzales-Imagn Images
Butler finished the night with a game-high 43 minutes, tallying 33 points on 12-of-26 shooting, seven rebounds and seven assists.
According to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk, Steve Kerr would have preferred to give Butler more rest in Game 3, but with Curry sidelined, that wasn’t realistic. Butler, meanwhile, pushed for more playing time, asking his coach to let him play the full 48 minutes going forward.
“Steve Kerr said in hindsight he would have loved to have gotten Jimmy Butler a few more minutes of rest,” Youngmisuk wrote on X. “But without Steph Curry, Kerr has to run weigh the risk of any minutes without Jimmy on floor. Kerr says Jimmy wants to play 48 minutes and he probably has to protect Jimmy.”
While none of the other Golden State starters stepped up in Game 3, backup forward Jonathan Kuminga had one of his better playoff performances, tallying 30 points and six rebounds in 36 minutes. Draymond Green fouling out with 4:38 to play also did not help the Warriors’ chances.
Butler and Golden State will look to tie the series up in Game 4 on Monday at 10:00 p.m. ET.