SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green stole the ball and passed it ahead to a streaking Gary Payton II, who threw down a reverse dunk to put the finishing touches on a Game 3 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
Jimmy Butler stood and clapped in approval as fans at Chase Center roared. Without the injured Butler, the Golden State Warriors delivered perhaps their gutsiest performance of the season in a 104-93 decision to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference first-round playoff series.
“We had Jimmy’s back while he was out,” said Payton, who came off the bench to score 16 points. “Hopefully, we get Jimmy back for Game 4 and we get back to our regular scheduled program.”
The drama entering Game 3 was whether Butler would be able to play following a nasty fall he took in the first quarter of Wednesday’s Game 2 that resulted in a pelvic and deep gluteal muscle contusion. Butler was ruled out before Game 3, giving the star two more days to heal before Game 4 on Monday. Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Butler is day-to-day.
Without Butler, the Warriors altered their lineup, starting Jonathan Kuminga and Quinten Post. Houston jumped out to a 13-point lead in the second quarter as Golden State struggled to score.
But Stephen Curry, playing against Houston’s physical defense and double-teams, got more aggressive and scored 25 of his 36 points over the second and third quarters. Curry hit 9 of 13 shots in that stretch to help Golden State go into the fourth down just 71-69.
“He’s Steph Curry,” Kerr said. “He’s one much greatest players of all time. He’s 37. He’s one of the most well-conditioned athletes I’ve ever seen in my life. To play 41 minutes against that kind of defense, to have a slow start and then find his rhythm, which we have seen him do countless times over the years, to hit big shots, to only turn it over twice against that kind of pressure, he was brilliant.”
Curry had help when he needed it. Buddy Hield hit five 3s and scored 17 points. And in the fourth quarter, when Curry scored nine points, Payton took advantage of the added defensive attention Houston threw at Curry. Either scoring as a roller or hitting an open 3 from the corner, Payton put up nine straight points then assisted Curry on a 3 that gave Golden State a 95-86 lead with 3:05 left.
The Rockets double-teamed Curry on 27 plays, and the Warriors averaged 1.22 points per play on those double-teams in Game 3, according to ESPN Research.
“We prepared as if he was going to play,” Houston point guard Fred VanVleet said of Butler. “We were ready to go. You can’t play that game of who is playing, who is not playing. Every chance you don’t win a game you feel like you could win is a missed opportunity. Obviously, Jimmy adds another layer to that because they are a different team without him.
“But Gary Payton stepped up tonight. Both the guys off the bench played key minutes. … We knew they were going to respond with a guy out as any good team would. There’s no scrubs in the playoffs right now.”
After scoring 38 points in Houston’s Game 2 win, Jalen Green finished with nine points, six rebounds and five assists. Alperen Sengun led Houston with 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Dillon Brooks scored 13 points before fouling out.
The Rockets’ frustration boiled over after the game, as Jalen Green shouted words at Draymond Green.
The Warriors power forward downplayed the incident, saying the game was over.
“Just talking,” Jalen Green said of the altercation. “Steph had a good game. That’s the reason they won. It was just talking. You know, [Draymond Green] can’t really do much of anything else. So, talking is his only way.”
Afterward, Butler posted on his Instagram page a picture of the Batman’s Bat-Signal, but in place of the Batman logo was Curry’s signature Under Armour logo. Butler has nicknamed Curry as Batman and said that he is Robin.
“Thanks Batman and team, excluding buddy,” wrote Butler, who loves to give Hield a tough time.
Curry, who has scored 31 and 36 points in Golden State’s two wins this series, said he appreciated Butler’s post, adding that he just hopes he has Butler by his side on Monday.
“I just know that I need to play at a high level for us to win,” Curry said. “And so does he and so does Draymond and so does everybody. Whatever you want to call me, I’ll embrace it, and hopefully it keeps happening.”
ESPN’s Michael C. Wright contributed to this report.
