The 135–112 game was supposed to look like a neat full stop to an old story: Jimmy Butler against the Heat, exes, emotions, “here you go.” Instead, it turned into something else — the win stayed in the books, but the defining image of the night was Butler on the floor, clutching his right knee and unable to get up.
And this is one of those cases where the score stops mattering altogether.
How it happened (and why one replay is enough to make you uneasy)
Midway through the third quarter — Butler goes up to grab a pass in the paint, collides with Davion Mitchell, comes down… and his knee twists in a way no one’s knee should ever twist.
He stays down for a couple of minutes, the team gathers around him, then they help him up and walk him off — he can barely put any weight on it. And yes, in classic Butler fashion he still managed to joke that he was “owed two free throws,” but that’s the kind of humor that kicks in when your brain is trying not to panic.
The MRI confirmed the worst: a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. Butler’s season is over, and surgery is next (the date hasn’t been set yet).
And now you can say it honestly: for Golden State, this isn’t an “unfortunate injury.” It’s a full reboot of the entire season.
Why it hurts especially right now
Because the Warriors were just starting to come alive.
The team was 25–19 and had won 12 of its last 16 — meaning they’d found momentum and finally looked less like “nostalgia for the prime” and more like a living, breathing project.
In this particular game, Butler had already put up 17 points in 21 minutes, and in January he was averaging more than 20.
That was, essentially, the point of bringing him in: one more grown-up shot creator next to Curry, so Steph isn’t playing “one against the world” every night.
And yes, an important detail for context: Butler really was a major bet — he was traded from Miami in February 2025, and he signed a 2-year / $111 million extension.
What happens to the Warriors now
The most honest way to put it: now their season turns into one of “survival.”
You can already see from the first reactions that the team understands it not only with their heads, but with their nerves: in the next game, less than a day after the injury, the Warriors gave up 145 points to Toronto — the most they’d allowed all season.
Kerr is saying the right things about depth, about how the goals are still within reach, about veterans who need to help. But even he admits it’s a serious blow.
And the schedule in the coming days looks like a stress test: a road trip through Dallas — Minnesota (twice) — Utah, all while fighting to climb out of the play-in zone (Golden State had been in 8th place and roughly a couple of games away from the top six).
The worst part of this story
There’s no “heroic reason” in it. No pretty drama. Not even a sense of justice.
It’s the classic sports scenario: one contact, one landing — and after that you’re no longer counting points, you’re counting months of rehab.
And what’s truly bitter is this: Butler showed up for a game that was supposed to be his “quiet revenge,” and got the harshest script imaginable. The 135–112 win now reads not like a celebration, but like end credits after a scene where someone cut the sound.
