After all the teasing Buddy Hield has endured from Warriors teammate Jimmy Butler, the Golden State guard got the last laugh in Game 7 on Sunday night.
Hield was the star of the Warriors’ 103-89 win over the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center, scoring 33 points on 12-of-15 shooting with an NBA record-tying nine 3-pointers as Golden State advanced to the Western Conference semifinals — much to the dismay of Butler, who loves giving Hield a hard time.
“I plead the Fifth,” Butler told Bob Fitzgerald and Kelenna Azubuike on “Warriors Postgame Live” after the win, who had asked the star forward if Hield is included now, a nod to Butler’s viral Instagram post where he thanked all the Warriors, “excluding Buddy,” after missing their Game 3 win with a pelvic injury.
It’s all in good fun, of course. Butler and Hield love ribbing each other after games, and the latter served it right back during his postgame press conference.
“Jimmy didn’t say nothing to me yet,” Hield told reporters. “I’m not going to get on Jimmy yet; I’m going to keep it calm, but today I had to fill his role for him in the first half. He was slacking. But we all weathered the storm, and it was a great team win.”
And the shenanigans didn’t stop there. Hield welcomed Butler to the podium after his own presser was over, trolling his teammate every step of the way.
But after Butler got in a few more joking digs on Hield, the six-time NBA All-Star heaped praise upon the unofficial MVP of Game 7.
“Buddy was huge,” Butler told reporters. “But we know the type of basketball player he is, and he’s a tough cover for sure whenever he’s making shots. But he made so many right plays on the defensive side of the ball where it needed to go. Buddy was really, really, really, really big for us tonight.”
They really do love each other.
Luckily for Dub Nation, they’ll be treated to an entirely new NBA playoff series featuring plenty more of Butler and Hield’s hijinks. The Warriors now head to Minnesota for a best-of-seven series against Anthony Edwards and the Timberwolves, starting with Game 1 at 6:30 p.m. PT on Tuesday.
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