Warriors lose chippy Game 2 to Rockets after Butler injured

HOUSTON The Warriors entered Wednesday night s battle against the Rockets at Toyota Center with eyes on a - series lead After a disastrous first quarter the Warriors were left hoping their championship hopes weren t dashed when star Jimmy Butler suffered a pelvic contusion in a - loss to Houston that evened up the series We craved two but we didn t get two we got one and they re a hell of a club and the two seed for a reason Warriors coach Steve Kerr disclosed So it s a good trip not a great trip The Rockets were up by double-digits for the entire second half but that did not stop the tournament from ending on a contentious note In the fourth quarter alone Jalen Green was called for a flagrant foul on Draymond Green Draymond was whistled for a technical himself and the teams had to be separated at midcourt It was an inglorious conclusion to a challenge that saw Butler exit in the first quarter Butler will receive an MRI on Thursday and the Warriors will have another day off before playing in San Francisco on Saturday Butler s injury occurred with left in the first quarter when Amen Thompson undercut the Warriors forward as Butler was grabbing a rebound He landed flat on his back and remained down for several moments He was eventually able to get up under his own power and split a pair of free throws but was hastily subbed out of the challenge and taken back to the locker room It looked like there was certain physicality on the rebound and I think Thompson just inadvertently revealed himself underneath Jimmy just based on the tug of war going on Kerr stated We didn t think there was anything wrong with the play In Butler s absence Curry scored seldom-used reserve Pat Spencer added off the bench and Jonathan Kuminga scored in minutes It was Kuminga s first championship action since April against the Blazers as the forward didn t play in the season finale against the Clippers the play-in supremacy over the Grizzlies or Championship against the Rockets Despite being down by double-digits for the entire second half the Warriors kept the total manageable until late An - run keyed by Curry and Quinten Post -pointers cut the deficit to - with seven minutes remaining The Warriors had a chance to cut the lead to single digits when Draymond Green drew a flagrant offensive foul on Jalen Green a meager seconds later But Draymond Green split the pair of foul shots the Warriors came up empty on the ensuing possession The Rockets closed the encounter out from there After outrebounding Golden State by overall and - on the offensive glass in Meeting it was more of the same for Houston in the rematch while Merced native Jalen Green scored on an assortment of layups dunks and tough -pointers to lead the Rockets Houston dominated Golden State on the glass - on Wednesday Alperen Sengun had points and rebounds and Tari Eason came off the bench to put up points and six rebounds Butler was not the only Warrior who missed championship time on Wednesday Starting shooting guard Brandin Podziemski had dealt with a stomach illness throughout the day and although he was able to start Meeting he left late in the first quarter and did not return until the third quarter Related Articles Warriors lose Jimmy Butler to hard fall in first half of playoff battle vs Rockets Warriors Brandin Podziemski questionable for Battle vs Rockets Why Warriors Draymond Green should or shouldn t win the NBA Defensive Member of the Year award Warriors looking to pick up the pace against old-school Rockets in Contest Jimmy Butler fits right into this Warriors-Rockets series straight out of the s The Rockets controlled the challenge from the start taking a - advantage after one quarter and a - lead into the halftime locker room The Warriors cut the lead to - with a Kevon Looney finger roll and had a few success with a - zone at times but the Rockets retook momentum with a flurry of Jalen Green points the majority of emphatic being an open-court poster dunk past Gui Santos Despite Golden State keeping the challenge within striking distance for much of the second half the Rockets pulled away late in the fourth quarter The Rockets and Warriors possibly without Butler will tip off Match at p m Saturday at Chase Center