Listed as questionable on the injury report, Jimmy Butler was ruled out prior to tipoff and his status remains up in the air for Game 4 on Wednesday. Buddy Hield drained five 3-pointers and scored 17 points in his absence and afterward embraced the comic book reference coined by Butler.

Butler averaged 17.9 points, 5.9 assists and 5.5 rebounds in 30 regular season games for the Warriors after coming over in a deadline trade from the Miami Heat. He scored 25 points in Golden State's Game 1 victory and had chipped in three points before exiting Wednesday's matchup.

SAN FRANCISCO – Facing the league’s most physical and handsy defense without his fearless costar, the Warriors asked the 37-year-old Steph Curry to put the offense on his shoulders in the third game of Golden State’s playoff series with the Rockets.