The Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets have teamed up for a contested and physical first-round NBA playoff series with players who are blunt about their feelings for the other side.
Exhibit A: Jimmy Butler’s thoughts on Dillon Brooks.
“No, we’re not having fun. I don’t like Dillon Brooks,” Butler said after the Warriors’ Game 4 win when asked about the physicality between the two players and teams, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. “We’re never having fun. I’m a fierce competitor. He’s a fierce competitor, but there’s nothing fun about that.”
A game that had multiple stops in play due to having to separate the two teams also saw Butler appear to directly tell Brooks that he was a “bum” and a “b****” during the second quarter.
Brooks and Warriors forward Draymond Green have gotten into multiple confrontations over the years, with Brooks being part of multiple incidents throughout this series — just last week, Brooks called Green a “dirty player” before Game 3. This is the third time in the past five years that the Warriors have faced Brooks in the playoffs (once with Brooks on the Rockets and twice with Brooks on the Memphis Grizzlies).
As for the scoreboard, Butler finished Game 4 with a team-high 27 points, six assists, five rebounds and one block on 7-of-12 shooting from the field and 12-of-12 shooting from the free throw line. Fourteen of his 27 points came in the fourth quarter.
Butler missed Game 3 of the series due to a pelvic contusion that he suffered in Game 2. However, after splitting the first two games of the series in Houston, the Warriors managed to win Game 3 without Butler and lead the series 3-1 following Game 4.
Golden State acquired Butler, a five-time All-NBA honoree, from the Miami Heat in February and subsequently signed the 35-year-old to a two-year, $111 million extension.
Are the Golden State Warriors legit title contenders again?
In the 30 regular-season games that Butler appeared in for the Warriors, they went 23-7 and later claimed the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. Butler averaged 17.9 points, 5.9 assists, 5.5 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, while shooting 47.6/27.9/87.0.
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National Basketball Association
Jimmy Butler III
Dillon Brooks
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