Draymond Green lauded the efforts of the Golden State Warriors' Jimmy Butler after his crucial contributions in their Game 4 109-106 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Butler, who missed the Warriors' Game 3 win with a pelvic and deep gluteal muscle contusion injury, led his team with 27 points, scoring five free throws in the final minute. 

The 35-year-old tied NBA legend Michael Jordan for the most playoff games all-time with 25 or more points, five or more assists, five or more rebounds, and zero turnovers.

Butler scored 14 of his points in a tense fourth quarter, with his impact for Golden State putting them within one win of advancing to the Western Conference semi-finals. 

"He played through the injury," Green said. "Was beautiful. But what his presence does for this team is humongous. The first three quarters, he couldn't move.

"Not sure how he started moving in the fourth quarter, but he never complained. He stuck with it.

"I think what was most important, when the time was right, everybody on our side looked to get him the ball.

"When you get him the ball, he made great things happen for himself or for others. It was huge. I think my favourite play was the last rebound.

"I looked up, I thought it was [young and athletic Jonathan] Kuminga out there flying. It was Jimmy."

JIMMY BUTLER III APPRECIATION POST

Toughness personified. pic.twitter.com/hJpJdlEqsN

— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 29, 2025

After his display, Butler conceded that he was in "a lot of pain" after his efforts, but is expected to feature against the Rockets in Game 5 later this week. 

Golden State head coach Steve Kerr echoed Green's comments, stating that if the Warriors were not in the playoffs, Butler would be watching on from the sidelines. 

"But it's the playoffs," Kerr said. "He's Jimmy Butler, so this is what he does.

"The rebound at the end was just incredible. The elevation, the force. Then, of course, knocking down the free throws to clinch it. Jimmy was just amazing."

Kerr's attention now turns to Game 5, and despite his team holding a 3-1 lead in the series, he acknowledged the difficulty of the task ahead. 

"They're always the hardest ones," Kerr said of a close-out game. "Every team that's in the playoffs, especially a team like Houston, 2 seed, 52 wins, big-time team.

"They got a lot of pride, great coach. They're going to be ready. We got a long way to go. We know Game 5 will be the toughest one yet."