Warriors’ Jimmy Butler Takes Hard Fall, Set For MRI

Golden State Warriors star Jimmy Butler took a hard fall late in the first quarter of the Warriors’ playoff game against the Houston Rockets.

Warriors’ forward Draymond Green, while boxing out Rockets guard Amen Thompson, appeared to give Thompson a slight shove, sending him forward and undercutting Butler while he was midair.

Butler suffered a pelvis contusion and is scheduled to undergo an MRI in San Francisco on Thursday.

“Jimmy always says he’s going to be fine,” Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said. “But we have to wait to see with the MRI.”

The Warriors went down early in the game and were never able to recover, eventually losing 109-94. Butler finished with three points in eight minutes before leaving the game with an injury.

If Butler has to miss time, it would be a devastating blow to the Warriors. Since acquiring Butler, the team is 25-8, including the playoffs.

It’s possible that Jonathan Kuminga could take Butler’s starting spot if he has to miss time. Kuminga had fallen out of the rotation in recent games.

“Hopefully Jimmy will be able to play,” Kerr said. “But if not, then we’ve got to go through our options and put together a plan.”

The series was expected to be one of the most physical of the entire playoffs. Both teams have aggressive and high-level defenses.

Green downplayed the level of physicality in game two with a simple statement.

“I thought it was more physical in game one,” Green said.