Warriors star Jimmy Butler leaves game vs. Thunder early with apparent knee injury

Golden State Warriors star Jimmy Butler left their matchup with the Oklahoma City Thunder early on Tuesday night due to an apparent knee injury.

Butler left the game briefly midway through he second quarter after tripping slightly and losing his shoe on the baseline. As the play went the other way, Butler slowly got his shoe back on and started limping off the floor. He went back to the locker room during the next timeout, but returned to the game a few minutes later.

Butler came up limping again in the final stretch of the first half, however, and went back to the locker room early. He stayed there for good, and did not start in the third quarter. The Warriors then ruled him out with a sore left knee before the start of the fourth quarter.

Further specifics are not yet known.

Butler had six points and three rebounds in 15 minutes on Tuesday night. He shot 2-of-7 from the field. The 36-year-old entered the contest averaging 20.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game this season while shooting nearly 53% from the field.

The Warriors entered Tuesday’s game having lost four of their last six, which dropped them to 11-10 on the season. The Thunder, meanwhile, have lost just once this season and looked extremely dominant yet again. They limited Golden State to just 18 points in the second quarter and carried a 19-point lead into halftime.

This post will be updated with more information shortly.