SAN FRANCISCO – Jimmy Butler stuffed the stat sheet in Golden State’s 104-93 victory over the visiting Milwaukee Bucks. In the process, he embodied the qualities of both of the team’s top stars.
With Steph Curry resting, Butler drew – and made – three pivotal free throws late in the third quarter to retake a Warriors lead that the team would not relinquish.
If the play looked familiar, that was because Butler took inspiration from his superstar teammate.
“I’ve been watching Steph highlights,” Butler said. “I’ve been going on YouTube and watching him do his thing. Now that he’s on my team and he’s out, I get to play a little bit like him.”
He scored a Curry-like 24 points and dished out 10 assists, controlling the Warriors offense as the de facto point guard while also guarding everyone from small guards to big forwards.
And yet, it wasn’t his gaudy numbers that impressed Butler’s hall-of-fame teammate a little over a month after the Warriors traded for the 35-year-old wing that had taken the Miami Heat to two Finals in the past five seasons.
Despite not notching a single block or steal, Butler’s defense drew the highest compliment from one of the game’s best defenders after Golden State improved to 40-29 and remained the sixth seed in the Western Conference.
“It’s so easy to add him in, because he is like me,” Draymond Green remarked. “He thinks like me, and sees the floor like me, or better.”
Of course, Butler’s offensive dominance against the Bucks was needed on a night the Warriors struggled to crack 100 points.
“Jimmy played the whole fourth and just took over the game,” coach Steve Kerr said. “We ran every play through him down the stretch. That’s some big-time weapon to have.”
But it was his willingness to do the little things, making the defensive rotation, the extra pass, the screen for a teammate, that showed that he has completely embraced the Warriors culture set by Curry and Green.
“I think I’ve matured a lot,” Butler said. “When I was young (coming) in the league, it was always score, score, score. Show everybody you belong in this league. I know I belong in this league now and I’m comfortable with who I am as a player.”
His scoring was still plenty needed, with Butler pouring in 12 points in the final 12 minutes and one second of the game.
Butler used the defensive attention he drew to set up Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield and Quinten Post for open shots, with the three combining for 46 points and a number of big makes down the stretch.
“He just does whatever is necessary, and I think it’s a good game for us to play without Steph, because it forces the rest of the team to play without him and play through Jimmy and see what we’ve got,” Kerr said.
Curry is expected to be back for Thursday’s game against the Raptors, the last of the Warriors’ seven-game homestand.
Golden State then embarks on a six-game road trip, starting on Saturday in Atlanta and returning in early February with only six games left in the regular season.
Scoring bursts like Tuesday’s might not be an every-night occurrence for Butler with the Warriors back at full strength.
But his masterclass against the Bucks showed – again – that Butler is a player capable of carrying a team on both sides of the ball in non-Curry minutes.
“So now it’s always about my guys,” Butler said. “Whatever y’all need me to do. Dray’s the same way, Steph’s the same way. All of us who have been in the league for a little bit, it’s only about winning at this point in time in our career.”