The Warriors nearly completed a 22-point comeback without their star names: Stephen Curry (quad contusion), who was sidelined, and Jimmy Butler (left knee soreness), who injured himself during the second quarter of this game.
The Thunder had taken a 63-44 lead at the half after Jimmy Butler limped back to the locker room. It seems he injured himself on a drive where he lost his shoe.
Jimmy Butler is not on the floor for the second half after showing discomfort following this play in the second quarter pic.twitter.com/K7Cn0dP9fu
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 3, 2025
In the third quarter, the Warriors’ PR account on social media confirmed that Butler will not be returning to action tonight, while he came back to the bench with a thigh guard above his left knee.
He’s back on the bench 🙌 https://t.co/Zg7D3woP4E pic.twitter.com/yztlSNgSpr
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) December 3, 2025
Following the game during the press conference, the Warriors’ head coach, Steve Kerr, said he is unaware of Jimmy Butler’s status and will know more about a potential return timeline soon. He confirmed that benching Butler was not a precautionary decision as per his knowledge, but he was not the one who decided Butler would not return to the floor tonight.
Butler’s night ended with just six points, three rebounds, and one assist, going 2-of-7 from the floor (28.6%) in just 15 minutes played. Butler now joins Stephen Curry and the other Warriors veterans like Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton on their injury list.
Despite his injury, the Warriors rallied back into the game after being down as many as 22 points early in the third quarter. They had 44 points in the third quarter, which by comparison is the same score they put in the entire first half (44 points).
The Warriors eventually took their second lead in the game (after leading 6-5 during the first quarter) in the fourth quarter when they finally cut the deficit and went up 98-97 on a three-point shot from Gary Payton II with a little over eight minutes left on the clock.
While the Warriors did not have a single double-digit scorer in the first half, they finished with six players in double-digit scoring. They eventually took a four-point lead in the fourth quarter before the Thunder rallied back into the game and ran away with it in the final five minutes of the game.
The game ended 124-112 in the Thunder’s favor. Brandin Podziemski and Pat Spencer led all scorers for the Warriors with 17 points each; meanwhile, the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, led all scorers in the game with 38 points. He also had three rebounds and four assists while shooting 61.9% from the field.
Even though the game had several silver linings in terms of player performances, the Warriors sincerely hope that Butler did not seriously injure himself and will be available in their next game on the road against the 76ers on Thursday night (December 4).
