Warriors forwards Jimmy Butler III and Jonathan Kuminga answered the wishes of every soul anxiously walking the streets of Dub Nation on Saturday. Butler dramatically increased his scoring, and Kuminga delivered one of most impressive performances of his NBA career.
And, still, it was not enough to prevent the Warriors from a 102-97 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinals.
Worse for the Warriors, hoping Butler and Kuminga can come out for Game 4 on Monday and repeat their combined excellence in Game 3 – 63 points on 23-of-44 shooting from the field, along with 10 assists – likely is a wish too far.
“My experience is that they probably won’t combine for 63 tomorrow,” coach Steve Kerr conceded Sunday after the team’s video evaluation. “But that other people will fill in some of those gaps.”
With Stephen Curry sidelined with a strained left hamstring, the “other people” disappointed in Game 3. The eight Warriors not named Butler or Kuminga combined for 34 points on 12-of-37 shooting from the field. The four starters aside from Butler scored 28 points on 10-of-29 shooting. Kuminga accounted for all but six points off the bench.
“Like I tell everybody, me and him can thrive together,” Butler said of Kuminga after Game 3. “I know how to space the floor. I can tell him, ‘Hey, when I have the ball, you go here, and you do this.’ We talk, we listen to one another, and then he has an incredible game like [Saturday].
“He did so many good things out there on the floor. I know that he’s going to be a huge part of us winning on Monday.”
The Game 3 result serves as proof that the Warriors need more than the Butler-Kuminga duo. If the “other people” can’t bring something to the party in Game 4 and beyond, the music will stop, lights will come on and the cleanup crew will come shuffling in.
Butler, aka “Playoff Jimmy,” delivered the kind of game he practically trademarked in Miami. Scoring. Rebounding. Playmaking. Leading. Everything the Warriors hoped for in February when they handed him a nine-figure contract to come to the Bay Area. His team-high 33 points on 12-of-26 shooting from the field, including 2-of-4 from deep, came from the dreams of CEO Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy.
Butler’s 43 minutes, however, probably came from the nightmares of the front office.
“He was incredible [in Game 3],” Kerr said. “In hindsight, I would have loved to have gotten him a couple more minutes [rest] during the meat of the game. But it’s tricky. Without Steph, we’re walking a fine line. So, we’ve got to balance the risk of keeping him off the floor versus the gain of getting him a little more rest.”
Butler faded badly in the fourth quarter, missing six of his seven shots, committing two fouls and one turnover. But through the first three quarters, after which Golden State had a 73-69 lead, he was one of the two best players on the floor for either team.
The other player was Kuminga. He had 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field, five rebounds and two blocks through three quarters. He finished with 30 points on 11-of-18 shooting.
“Elite. Elite,” Buddy Hield, whose 14 second-half points amounted to proof of life, said of Kuminga after Game 3.
“Kuminga was great,” Kerr said on Sunday. “Just the energy, the effort spreading the floor, just the extra efforts, and, of course, the scoring. We needed all his points.”
What’s needed now, however, is a higher quality of help for Butler and Kuminga – no matter how productive they are in Game 4 and beyond.
For the Warriors to have a chance to tie the series 2-2, Draymond Green must be better. Same for Brandin Podziemski and Gary Payton II. Curry’s absence has made Hield the focus of Minnesota’s defense, but another scoreless first half would be tough to overcome.
“You just kind of move forward, and you look at where you can attack, what you can do better, and then different guys step up,” Kerr said. “I’m very confident that both JK and Jimmy will play well. But to expect 63 points combined, again, it’s probably unrealistic.”
Or, at least, wildly optimistic.
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