The Warriors earned their spot in this first-round series via the Play-In Tournament, knocking off the Memphis Grizzlies to grab the West's No. 7 seed. The Rockets ended up with the No. 2 seed in an ultra-competitive Western Conference, finishing 52-30 in the regular season. Game 3 is set for Saturday in San Francisco.

The Warriors also announced that guard Brandin Podziemski was questionable to return to the game due to an illness. Two starters exiting left head coach Steve Kerr digging deep in the Warriors' bench, with 12 different players logging minutes by the time Butler was ruled out.

Jimmy Butler has been ruled out after suffering pelvic contusion on a hard fall during the first quarter of Game 2 of the first round series between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets. Butler was undercut in the air by Rockets guard Amen Thompson while securing a rebound,