Update – It was confirmed Butler suffered a torn ACL, a season-ending injury that deals a significant blow to the Warriors championship aspirations.
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San Francisco – The Golden State Warriors delivered one of their most dominant offensive performances of the season Tuesday night, but the victory came at a steep cost. Jimmy Butler III suffered a torn ACL, an injury that will end his season.
Golden State cruised to a 135–112 win over the Miami Heat, sustaining its offensive rhythm even after Butler exited with a devastating knee injury in the third quarter. Facing his former team, Butler scored 17 points before his night, and season, came to an abrupt end.
With 7:41 remaining in the third quarter, Butler went down hard after securing a rebound. He immediately dropped to the floor, screaming in pain as the arena fell silent. Writhing on the court, Butler was eventually helped off by two teammates and did not return.
“I mean, we’re all really concerned,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “But we’ll know more after the MRI. We don’t know anything at this point. Everybody is subdued because of the injury, waiting to hear the news.”
The setback deepens a frustrating stretch for the Warriors, who now lose a marquee player without a clear replacement. Jonathan Kuminga remains sidelined with an injury and has demanded a trade, further thinning Golden State’s rotation.
“I haven’t talked to him since the game,” Stephen Curry said. “You never like to see a situation like that, especially somebody as tough as he is. Praying for the best, obviously, with the scans and all that. We’ll figure it out, but hopefully he’s alright.”
When asked repeatedly about Butler’s injury, Curry acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding his teammate’s injury, expressing concern while conceding that the team is still waiting for clarity on what lies ahead.
“I don’t know. I won’t talk about him being out until we know what’s going on,” Curry said. “The way we played down the stretch tonight, BP (Brandin Podziemski) being aggressive to score, Buddy (Hield) staying ready and knocking down shots, Moses (Moody), then Al (Horford) off the bench, we’re going to have to do it by committee. If anybody goes down, we’ll figure out the plan depending on what’s going on.”
Despite the emotional weight of Butler’s injury, the Warriors continued to build momentum. Golden State has now won four consecutive games for the first time this season and sits a season-high six games over .500. The Warriors have won 12 of their last 16 games, including six of the past seven.
Golden State improved to 17–6 at home and has won 10 of its last 12 games at Chase Center. The victory also pushed the Warriors to 6–1 on their franchise-record–tying eight-game homestand, the fourth time the team has reached that mark.
The Warriors continued their historic shooting stretch, recording a franchise-best run and matching an NBA record by making 20 or more three-pointers in four consecutive games, a feat previously accomplished only by Boston and Cleveland. Golden State knocked down a season-high–tying 24 three-pointers for the fourth time this season and improved to 8–1 when making at least 20 from beyond the arc.
Golden State has now shot better than 50 percent from the field in three straight games, marking the franchise’s first such stretch since Feb. 2–6, 2023. The Warriors are 10–2 overall this season, including a perfect 7–0 at home, when shooting at least 50 percent from the field.
The Warriors also improved to 12–3 on the season when shooting at least 40 percent from three-point range, including 8–1 at home. Golden State has reached that benchmark in five of its last six games.
“I think, generally speaking, when someone goes down like that, the general vibe of the group is rally together, and everybody should step up a little bit, and I think we did that tonight,” Brandin Podziemski said. “We were pretty good defensively, held ’em to 19 in the fourth quarter. We each just did a little bit more, and collectively it came out to a victory for us.”
Podziemski led the Warriors with a season-high 24 points, continuing his strong stretch of play. Curry recorded his third double-double of the season, finishing with 19 points and a season-high–tying 11 assists.
Curry also knocked down five three-pointers, giving him an NBA-leading 154 made threes for the 2025–26 season. Will Richard added a career-high seven assists, surpassing his previous best of five set Jan. 17 against Charlotte, while making his 15th career start. Moses Moody continued his efficient shooting, recording his fourth consecutive game shooting at least 50 percent from three-point range and averaging 62.1 percent from beyond the arc over that span.
The Warriors limited the Heat to just 39.4 percent shooting from the field, improving to 6–1 overall (4–1 at home) this season when holding opponents under 40 percent.
Golden State’s bench also made a significant impact, scoring at least 60 points for the fourth time in the last six games and the ninth time overall this season, with the team going 7–2 in those contests.
Up Next: The Warriors host the Toronto Raptors tomorrow night, Tuesday, January 20 (7 p.m.) in the final game of the current eight-game homestand.
Phot by Warriors/Twitter
