The Warriors and Lakers went head-to-head Thursday night in a divisional showdown with serious playoff implications. While the spotlight was on LeBron and Steph, this game was about more than just their rivalry. Both teams were fighting to climb the Western Conference standings, making every play feel like a statement. But Jimmy Butler, the Warriors star had an issue.

Butler hadn’t quite found his rhythm against the Lakers on Thursday night. Golden State jumped out to a 60-47 lead at Crypto.com Arena, thanks to Brandin Podziemski lighting it up from deep. Butler, meanwhile, had a quiet start with just four points and two rebounds. He shot 2-3 from the field but hadn’t even attempted a three.

Then, disaster struck. Midway through the third quarter, Butler left the game with what appeared to be a left arm injury. With 5:24 remaining in the quarter, he headed straight to the locker room, leaving fans holding their breath. But according to Slater, he made his way back to the bench later on—this time with his left hand and arm wrapped up.

Since arriving from Miami, the 6x All-Star has helped turn things around in the Bay. The Warriors have looked like a different squad with him—stacking up a 19-4 record over his first 23 games. Coincidence? Not likely.

Butler’s not putting up flashy numbers from deep—just 23.2% from three—but his impact goes way beyond that. He’s averaging 17.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 1.4 steals while shooting 45.3% from the field. Not bad for a guy who doesn’t need to chuck threes to stay relevant.

Now, speaking of relevance—Thursday night’s battle at Crypto.com Arena wasn’t just another regular-season game. The Lakers and Warriors brought the drama, intensity, and a whole lot of what-the-heck moments in a contest that had playoff vibes written all over it.

The Warriors even on Jimmy Butler’s day off

The Lakers looked like they hit snooze for most of the game—only waking up in the fourth. By then, the damage was done. Golden State strolled out of Crypto.com Arena with a 123-116 win, while LA slipped back to the fourth seed.

Now don’t let the 45.3% shooting fool you—that stat got a glow-up in garbage time. Meanwhile, the Warriors? They were straight-up flamethrowers from deep, hitting 19-of-42 threes like it was just another Splash Bros training montage.

LeBron dropped 33 with 9 assists and 5 boards—business as usual. Reaves was silent for a while but suddenly flipped the switch in the fourth to finish with 31. Luka? Rough night. He had 19 but couldn’t buy a bucket, going 6-for-16. Rui Hachimura added 24, and the rest of the squad? Might as well have been invisible—nobody else scored more than three.

The game opened like NBA Jam—fast, fun, and buckets galore. But after that? The vibes crashed. LeBron’s brief injury scare threw off LA’s rhythm, and Golden State pounced. Kuminga’s three gave them the lead, and they never looked back.

Podziemski torched LA with 22 first-half points, even tossing in a running buzzer-beater like he was auditioning for a Disney sports movie.

Despite a late push—Bron, Reaves, and Luka tried to drag LA back—Steph and the Warriors kept answering. The final shot? A wide-open triple for Dorian Finney-Smith. Clank. Then a turnover. Just like that, hope vanished.