JIMMY Butler III returned from a one-game absence to score 14 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter to help the Golden State Warriors record a 109-106 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series on Monday in San Francisco.
Brandin Podziemski made six 3-pointers and scored 26 points as the Warriors took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference matchup.
Stephen Curry scored 17 points, Buddy Hield added 15 and Quinten Post had 13 off the bench for seventh-seeded Golden State.
“We have the most confident guys,” Butler said on TNT, adding that he experienced soreness at times during the game. “Anybody can put the ball in the basket, but more than anything, we’re locked in on the defensive side of the ball, we’re playing hard, and when we limit our turnovers, we’re hard to beat.”
Alperen Sengun amassed 31 points and 10 rebounds and Fred VanVleet knocked down eight 3-pointers while scoring 25 points for the second-seeded Rockets. Amen Thompson put up 17 points for Houston.
The Rockets had a chance to tie in the final second, but VanVleet was off-target on a long 3-point attempt.
Game 5 is Wednesday night in Houston.
Butler missed Game 3 due to a pelvic injury and had just four points in the first half of Game 4 before excelling in the second half. He ended the night 12-for-12 on free-throw attempts, and he scored all of Golden State’s last five points at the line.
“Jimmy getting to the line 12 times really carried us, especially in the fourth quarter,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It was just an incredible performance by our guys against a great team that gave us everything we can handle tonight. It’s a big-time win.”
