Jimmy Butler III returned from a game absence and scored 14 of 27 points in the fourth quarter to help the Golden State Warriors beat the Houston Rockets 109-106 in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series in San Francisco.
Brandin Podziemski scored six 3-pointers and scored 26 points as the Warriors led 3-1 in the best Western Conference matchup in the West on Monday.
Stephen Curry scored 17 points, Buddy Hield added 15 points, while Quinten Post scored 13 points for the seventh-seeded Golden State.
Alperen Sengun led all scorers with 31 points and 10 rebounds, and Fred Vanvleet knocked out eight 3-pointers while shooting 25 points for the Rockets in the second seed. Amen Thompson scored 17 points for Houston.
The Rockets had a chance to win a final second straight, but Vanvleet stood out in a three-point attempt.
Game 5 was held in Houston on Wednesday night.
Butler missed Game 3 due to a pelvic injury, having only 4 points in the first half of Game 4 before doing well in the second half. He ended a 12-12 night in a free throw attempt, and he scored the final five points in the game.
Butler fouled with 3 points, with 58.7 seconds left and all three-point free throws, giving Golden State a 107-104 lead.
Sengun's basketball driving brought the Rockets to a 40.8-second game.
Houston later had a chance to lead, but Sengun had 6.4 seconds left for the 11-foot ball. Butler made two free throws with four seconds left before Van Villet shot his shot at the buzzer.
Golden State shot 41.9% from the field, including 46 (37%) in the 3-point range.
The Rockets hit 49.4% of the shots, behind 11 points (48.7%) of 23. Dillon Brooks scored 11 points and Steven Adams blocked Houston with four shots.
The Warriors fell 7 points in the halftime before starting the third quarter with a 18-1 record.
The Rockets scored the next seven points and finally scored 74 points on Sengun's basket, leaving 2 minutes and 35 seconds left.
Golden State entered the final quarter with an edge of 82-80, while Podziemski started the quarter with three points. However, Houston scored 14 points in the next 19 points and led 94-90 at Thompson's rim with a score of 7:33.
Later, Butler scored four points in a 7-0 breakout, while Golden State led three points with a score of 2:12.
Vanvleet then canned another three-pointer and tied it up with a score of 1:20 in 104.
Vanvleet scored 12 points in the first half, and Houston led 57-50 at the break. podziemski accelerated Golden State at 13 before halftime.
The Knight heats up with a record blowout sweep
Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points in an earlier playoff game on Monday, and the Cleveland Cavaliers won 138-83 host Miami Heat with a 4-0 first-round series, the fourth-largest winning player in the NBA playoffs.
De'andre Hunter (19 points), Ty Jerome (18) and Evan Mobley (17) all played their roles, while Jarrett Allen scored 14 points and 12 rebounds, as well as six first-half steals.
Nikola Jovic sat down in the first quarter before finishing with a professional playoff high of 24 points in Miami, while Bam Adebayo scored 13 points and 12 innings.
The highlighted Game 4 win won the berth of the First Seed Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference semifinals while ending the Eighth Seed Heat season in a humiliating manner.
The 55-point advantage is Miami's biggest playoff defeat, surpassing 37 points in Game 3 two days ago.
"We're humble, but they (the Cavaliers) have a lot to do with our appearance," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "None of us would have guessed that this series would stand out from our two games. They just brought it to another level. They left us in the last two games."
Cleveland will play the Indiana Pacers or the Milwaukee Bucks in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Pacers are currently leading their seven best series 3-1.
