Jimmy Butler stats tonight: How did Warriors star perform in Steph Curry's absence against Timberwolves in Game 3? (May 10)

In his first playoff run with the Golden State Warriors, Jimmy Butler has taken on the tremendous responsibility of being the go-to guy. With Steph Curry out due to a hamstring injury, Butler has once again embraced the role of primary option on offense — which, to his credit, he lived up to back in his Miami Heat days.

To add to the drama of this playoff situation, Butler is going up against another one of his former teams in Round 2. The six-time All-Star infamously had a messy split with the Timberwolves years ago, and now, the franchise stands between him and a Western Conference Finals appearance.

The Wolves ended up prevailing 102-97 over the Warriors. In this losing effort, Butler had 33 points on 12-for-26 shooting from the field, along with seven rebounds and seven assists.

In the opening quarter, Butler set the tone offensively for the Warriors, scoring 11 of the team's 21 points. By the end of the first 24 minutes of action, he had 18 points, three rebounds, and three assists.

Butler continued to be productive in the second half as the Warriors eventually seized the lead. With Draymond Green fouling out in the middle of the fourth quarter, the stage was set for Butler to showcase his clutch gene and leadership skills on the floor. However, Butler's touches in crunchtime were limited and the Warriors ended up losing by five.

Jimmy Butler on volume of shots taken: "If it's not towards winning, none of that ever matters"

In terms of field goal attempts, Butler was far and away the statistical leader for the Warriors as he took 26 shots in Game 3. Though he ended up making 46.2% of them, he hardly sounded satisfied with his individual output:

"I don’t care how many shots I shoot. I don’t care how many points I score. If it’s not towards winning none of that ever matters," Butler said in his post-game interview. "Next time, it has to be in a win."

For the Warriors to secure victory in Game 4, they will need Butler to sustain his aggressiveness while also getting better contributions from their key rotation players.