Draymond Green says he’s ‘got to be better’ for Jimmy Butler after fouling out in Game 3

The Golden State Warriors had a chance to take a 2-1 lead in their series against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, but Warriors star Draymond Green had maybe his worst game of the 2025 NBA Playoffs so far.

Green finished Game 3 with more fouls than points, as he scored just two points on 1-of-4 shooting from the floor and fouled out with under five minutes left in the contest. The 35-year-old totaled more turnovers (five) than assists (four) as well in a game the Warriors lost by five points at home.

After his lackluster showing on Saturday, Green spoke frankly about his performance and admitted that he has to play better for forward Jimmy Butler, who carried the Warriors on the offensive end with a team-high 33 points on 12-of-26 shooting from the field.

“I’ve got to be better for him,” Green said.

“I’ve just got to play better. … Whatever that means. In spite of whoever else that’s involved that influences it, I have to be better. I let him down today. He did what he needed to do. Again, no matter who else is involved that is influencing how I have an impact on the game, I have to be better.”

On top of his unimpressive statistics on Saturday, Green also let star Julius Randle have a big game. Green spent plenty of time guarding Randle, who ended up with a triple-double of 24 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds. Randle is the first Timberwolves player to rack up a triple-double in a playoff game since former superstar big man Kevin Garnett accomplished such a feat back in 2004.

Green hasn’t been at his best with his longtime teammate Stephen Curry down for the count with a hamstring injury. It’s probably not a coincidence that the former Michigan State University standout had far and away his best showing of the series in Game 1, and Curry played part of that game before he suffered his injury.

Green won’t have much time to dwell on his poor performance at Chase Center on Saturday, as the Warriors have a crucial Game 4 coming up on the horizon. The Timberwolves and Warriors will square off once again on Monday night before the series shifts back to Minnesota for Game 5.

Green might have no choice but to raise his level of play in Game 4 if he doesn’t want to see the Warriors fall into a 3-1 hole in their best-of-seven series and be one loss away from elimination.