Jimmy Butler underwent an MRI that revealed no structural damage, but the Golden State Warriors star is in serious jeopardy of missing Game 3 with a deep glute muscle contusion, league sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.
The Warriors and Butler have two days off before hosting the Houston Rockets on Saturday at Chase Center with the first-round series tied at 1-1. Considering that the MRI showed no fracture after Butler took a scary fall in the first quarter of Game 2 on Wednesday night, the Warriors got a best-case scenario result, sources told Charania.
Butler will use the time before the 5:30 p.m. PST tipoff to do everything he can to play. His return likely will be determined by how his body responds to treatment in the next two days.
Butler went up high to grab a defensive rebound off Houston's Amen Thompson's missed shot when Thompson undercut Butler. Butler came crashing down on his tailbone area and was visibly in immediate pain. The Warriors later would rule out Butler in the second quarter with a pelvis contusion.
Without Butler, the Warriors fought but were handled by the Rockets, 109-94, in Game 2. If the Warriors have to play Game 3 without Butler, it will be a blow. Butler has turned the Warriors around as Golden State has gone 25-9 -- including the regular season, play-in and postseason -- since he made his debut on Feb. 8 in Chicago.
Butler has been the star that Stephen Curry has needed beside him to alleviate the offensive burden while also managing the crucial non-Curry minutes. He also has helped Draymond Green lift the Warriors' defense to first in the league.
"I mean if Jimmy's out, we have to rethink everything," Warriors coach Steve Kerr said after Game 2. "Like rotations, who starts and the best combinations and all that stuff."
Jonathan Kuminga could be an option for a bigger role if Butler is unable to play in Game 3. Kuminga played 26 minutes and scored 11 points but shot 4-for-12 from the field in his first game of the postseason. Kuminga had fallen out of the rotation since the regular-season finale.
Butler has lifted his game a notch to "Playoff Jimmy" form since the regular-season finale when he had 30 points and nine assists in an overtime loss to the Clippers. He followed that up with 38 points, seven rebounds and six assists in a play-in win over Memphis. And then, while helping Golden State steal Game 1 in Houston on Sunday, Butler poured in 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals.
Curry has dealt with tailbone injuries in the past, including a pelvic contusion he suffered on March 20. Curry would miss two games after that but said when he returned that he was not at risk of worsening his injury barring another hard fall on the injured area.
"The last one I had was just a contusion and that is just a pain tolerance thing," Curry said of his recent pelvic contusion injury. "Hopefully it's just a contusion, you could play through that eventually."