Houston-Jimmy Butler of Golden State suffered a contusion of pelvis after taking a tough fall in a lack of Ames Thompson at the end of the first quarter and the rest of the 109-94 defeat of the Warriors against the Rockets of Houston was lost on Wednesday night.
Coach Steve Kerr said he wasn’t sure if Butler would be available for game 3 on Saturday. It is scheduled to have a magnetic resonance exam on Thursday.
“Jimmy always says it’s going well,” Kerr said. “But we have to wait to see with magnetic resonance.”
Butler was injured when Thompson was pushed by his legs as he jumped to try to grab a rebound. Both players crashed at the court on the collision, but Butler stayed longer than Thompson.
He finally got up and walked slowly to the other end of the court to shoot free throws. Butler made 1 of 2 and was soon taken out of the game and immediately went to the locker room.
Kerr does not believe that Thompson has intended to hurt Butler.
“We don’t think there was anything wrong with the work,” Kerr said. “It was just one of those plays.”
Butler, who had three points and two rebounds before leaving, had 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the victory of Golden State 95-85 in game 1.
Kerr said it’s too early to think about what Warriors will do if Butler can’t go on Saturday.
“Hopefully Jimmy can play, but if we don’t have to go through our options and gather a plan,” he said.
Brandin Podziemski by Golden State, who stayed out for much of the first half dealing with a stomach ailment, returned in the third quarter. Kerr said before the game that the initial guard was fighting with a stomach problem due to something he ate and said later that he received an IV in the half time.
