Warriors instant analysis: Jimmy Butler leads winning effort in return to Chicago

CHICAGO The Warriors are no strangers to one of their players receiving loud cheers from what should be hostile crowds on the road But instead of Steph Curry the usual suspect it was beloved former Chicago Bull Jimmy Butler who enjoyed a rousing ovation from the United Center Crowd on Sunday night Butler played the first six seasons of his career for the Bulls and made three All-Star teams He rewarded his still-supportive Chicago fans with points eight rebounds and six assists in his first competition back in the Windy City since since his Golden State debut on Feb And just like that night the Warriors came away with a win this time an - triumph that gave them two wins in a row Playing against a Bulls defense ranked near the bottom of the league in most of defensive categories the Warriors waltzed into open jump shots and layups for largest part of the night The Warriors led by as countless as in the third quarter although a - Bulls run at the end of the period cut the deficit to just Butler scored five quick points a layup and a staredown triple to help push the lead back to He made another fadeaway -pointer a limited minutes later to give the Warriors a -point lead with seven minutes remaining They scored points in the paint made at least -pointers for the third time this season and raced out to points in transition Brandin Podziemski put in off the bench Quinten Post scored and made five -pointers and De Anthony Melton returned to the lineup and scored while playing stellar defense Golden State improved to - and will now have four days off before playing at home against Minnesota Green Horford Curry update Steph Curry has missed the past five games but he is on track to return for Friday s home match against Minnesota Hampered with a quad injury he has remained in the Bay Area while healing The Warriors broadcasted on Sunday afternoon that Curry is making good progress and that he is expected to practice on Wednesday Warriors coach Steve Kerr recounted media on Saturday that the unit will have two days off on Monday and Tuesday So it was no surprise that the organization decided to hold Horford sciatica and Green foot out for one more day The Warriors will not play another encounter until Friday Makes sense to give them four days before the next tournament Let s be safe Kerr mentioned Kuminga glued to bench Twenty-four hours after starting against Cleveland and shooting of Jonathan Kuminga discovered himself relegated to the bench on the second night of the back to back He did not play a single second Kuminga has not played well since coming back from missing seven games with a knee injury shooting just of and committing turnovers He was not on the pre-game injury statement and is not the first time Kuminga has determined himself outside of the rotation despite being healthy Kerr dropped Kuminga from the rotation late last season and into the playoffs After signing a new million extension in the offseason Kuminga began the season as a starter However after a poor run of form he was moved to the bench after games Spencer homecoming Butler was not the only Warriors sportsman to enjoy a warm reception during their return to Chicagoland Starting point guard Pat Spencer was swamped with well-wishers in the Windy City The former Northwestern basketball participant responded by putting on a show for the United Center crowd Coming off his first start the breakout third-year pro continued his stellar play by putting up points and six assists This came on the heels of his -point -assist showing at Cleveland the night before He has scored total points over the last three games all played without Curry