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Jimmy Butler Had Brutally Honest Line About Needing Steph Curry After Warriors Loss

Kristen Wong

Screengrab on Twitter/ @KNBR
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The Miami Heat spoiled Jimmy Butler's revenge game Tuesday night when they soundly took care of business against the Golden State Warriors in a 112-86 blowout win at home.

Butler has helped the Warriors gain momentum during a pivotal stretch of the season, but that could be coming to a halt after Golden State dropped their last two games to open up their road trip, recording back-to-back losses for the first time since before the Butler trade in early February.

In Tuesday's loss to the Heat, Butler put up just 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting while the Warriors' starters were outscored 88-38. It's no coincidence that Golden State's recent drop in form is happening during Steph Curry's absence, as the Warriors star has missed the last two games after suffering a pelvic contusion on a scary fall.

The Warriors have gone 7-4 and own the worst offensive rating in the league this season when Curry isn't playing—a pitiful 105.2, which is good for last place.

With the Warriors' barely holding onto the No. 6 seed in the West, Butler gave his honest thoughts on how badly the team needs its superstar guard.

"We definitely need 30 back," Butler told reporters. "We want him to be right. We're still expecting to win, we gotta put up a better effort than what we put up the last two games. But if he's back, I think it's gonna be different."

The good news for the Warriors is that barring any setbacks, coach Steve Kerr expects Curry to be cleared for Friday's game against the New Orleans Pelicans.

However, it goes without saying that the Warriors will need more than just Curry to be true contenders this postseason, especially against star-studded teams like the Lakers and Nuggets. Tuesday's dud aside, hopefully "Playoff Jimmy" will be able to step up for the Warriors when they need him most.

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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