Jimmy Butler was unimpressed by the result and even less interested in celebrating it. After the Golden State Warriors cruised past the Portland Trail Blazers 119-97 to close the first half of their season,
Butler delivered a stark assessment that cut straight through the feel-good optics of a blowout win.
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“Mediocre,” Butler said when asked to evaluate the Warriors through 41 games. “The worst place to be is to be mediocre.”
It was a jarring comment given how complete the performance appeared on the surface. Butler finished with 16 points on an efficient 5-of-7 shooting night, along with six rebounds and five assists. Golden State forced 22 turnovers, knocked down 23 three-pointers, and carried a 26-point lead into halftime at Chase Center.
Yet Butler made it clear that one convincing win does not rewrite months of uneven basketball.
“Yes, it can go either way,” he said. “But nobody wants to be just average.”
That frustration mirrors the Warriors‘ position in the standings. At 22-19 and sitting eighth in the Western Conference, Golden State has hovered around the same range for much of the season.
A complete performance that still left questions
While Butler delivered the postgame soundbite, Stephen Curry shaped the game in a subtler way. Curry scored just seven points on 2-of-9 shooting, but controlled the tempo with a season-high 11 assists.
The Warriors finished with 34 assists on 42 made field goals, a sign of ball movement that consistently pulled Portland’s defence out of position.
Golden State seized control early. The Warriors made 14 of their first 22 shots and raced to a 38-22 first-quarter lead, setting a tone Portland never matched. The Trail Blazers were short-handed, missing leading scorer Deni Avdija, and struggled to cope with Golden State’s pace and spacing.
The bench provided a decisive edge. De’Anthony Melton led all scorers with a season-high 23 points, injecting energy and shot-making throughout the night. Brandin Podziemski added 15 points, while Moses Moody chipped in 14 and moved past Mike Dunleavy into 12th place on the franchise’s all-time three-point list.
