SAN FRANCISCO — Golden State Warriors wing Jimmy Butler left Tuesday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns with lower back soreness, an issue that emerged in the aftermath of the team’s Saturday night loss in Indianapolis.
Butler was initially deemed questionable against the Suns. He warmed up on the practice court 90 minutes before tip-off and was given the green light, but he appeared limited in his 14 first-half minutes, missing four of his five shots.
Butler subbed out at the 7:04 mark of the second quarter and eventually exited for the locker room. He didn’t close the first half and wasn’t on the bench in the second half. The team officially ruled him out in the third quarter.
Butler has been durable since his trade to the Warriors last February, appearing in 30 of 31 regular-season games down the stretch and missing only one playoff game after a brutal fall on his tailbone in Game 2 of their first-round series in Houston.
Butler started all eight games to open this season before Tuesday night’s early departure. The Warriors are on a back-to-back in Sacramento on Wednesday night. Eight of their next nine games are on the road.