Jimmy Butler gets off to a good start with Warriors by scoring 25 points against Bulls in his debut

CHICAGO (AP) — Jimmy Butler drew the familiar “oohs” and “aahs” from the Chicago crowd when he cut backdoor for an alley-oop dunk in the opening minute.

He had enough left to take over during Golden State’s decisive run with Stephen Curry on the sideline. If his debut with the Warriors is a sign of things to come, they sure will welcome it.

Butler had 25 points and four assists in his first game since a trade-deadline deal from Miami following a messy split with the Heat, helping the Warriors beat the Bulls 132-111 on Saturday night.

“He’s a lion out there,” coach Steve Kerr said.

It was an emotional night for Butler.

The six-time All-Star’s first game with his new team came exactly one year after the death of his father. He wore “Butler III” on the back of his jersey as a tribute to his dad and will continue to go by that “forever and ever.”

Butler’s first game with the Warriors came in the city where he spent his first six seasons. On top of all that, he hadn’t played since Jan. 2. The Heat suspended him three times last month, and he said he lost his joy for the game.

“I knew I was going somewhere, whether they were sending me to Flamengo down in Brazil,” he said, referring to the team in Brazil’s premier league that he has said he will join after his NBA career. “But I’m glad that it is here. I am grateful to be able to play basketball for a top organization like this one.”

Now, Butler gets a fresh start. In some ways, so do the Warriors.

Butler is looking for his first championship after leading Miami to two NBA Finals in six seasons. Golden State is trying to capture another one to go with the four titles it already has with Kerr, Curry and Draymond Green. The Warriors were 10th in the Western Conference at 26-26 following the win over Chicago.

“We need each other,” Kerr said.

The Warriors paid a big price for Butler, sending Andrew Wiggins to Miami as part of the five-team trade and signing their new star to a two-year, $113 million contract extension. But they see it as a worthwhile investment.

After all, Butler is one of the NBA’s best two-way players, someone willing to do whatever is needed to win on a given night. In that sense, they see him as a perfect complement to Curry.

“They say opposites attract in a lot of ways in life,” Butler said. “I don’t think I could be a better complement to him and vice versa. They’re not leaving him ever. Probably two people would never leave him. There’s so much space for everybody else. I get the easy job. I’m playing one-on-one or in so much space.”

Before things turned sour with the Heat, Butler had plenty of big moments. He’s Miami’s regular-season leader with 13 triple-doubles and is eighth on the team’s lists of points, rebounds and assists. “Playoff Jimmy” was at his best when the games mattered most, ranking third on the Heat’s postseason scoring list and second behind only LeBron James in playoff points per game for Miami.

“Timing is everything in this league,” Kerr said. “I think we’re getting Jimmy at the right time. His time in Miami expired. It ran out. You could feel it. They felt it, he felt it, so we’re getting him at a time that’s probably healthy for us and healthy for Jimmy.”

Butler hasn’t practiced with the Warriors. He didn’t participate in the morning shootaround, either, because some of the players involved in the trade had not passed their physicals.

Butler and the Warriors will need time to get used to each other. Kerr kept things simple for their first game together, giving him about three plays, but he showed his usual explosiveness, even if he was exhausted.

Butler had enough left to take over during a decisive 16-1 run that started late in the third. He scored the first seven points in the fourth, starting with a three-point play off an alley-oop dunk, with Curry on the sideline.

“The game is very, very simple here, and they make it so easy for me,” Butler said.

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