Sunday night’s matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Indiana Pacers was initially headlined by who wasn’t on the court. Steph Curry (illness) missed his third straight game for the Warriors while the Pacers were missing a flurry of players, including Pascal Siakam (rest), Aaron Nesmith (forearm) and Bennedict Mathurin (toe).
Yet, for the Warriors, they still had Jimmy Butler. The veteran wing led the Warriors with a game-high 21 points to go along with nine rebounds and seven assists in a near triple-double performance.
Throughout the game, the Warriors struggled to pull away from the short-handed Pacers. With just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter, Jarace Walker helped tie the game for the Pacers.
Yet, in the final three minutes of the third quarter, the Warriors closed the frame with a 10-0 run to take a 75-65 lead into the fourth quarter. In the fourth quarter, the Warriors picked up where they left off in the late third, outscoring the Pacers 39-18 in the final frame.
Rookie Will Richard led the Warriors with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field in the fourth quarter to help secure a 114-83 win over the Pacers.
Richard continued his impressive start to his rookie season, scoring 15 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the field with three rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.
Without Curry, Al Horford helped provide spacing for the Warriors, knocking down four 3-pointers on the way to 12 points off the bench. Moses Moody added three made triples against the Pacers.
With a win on Sunday, the Warriors moved back to one game over .500 at 6-5 to start the season. Golden State gets Monday off before a tough six-game road swing starting with a contest against the defending NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday.
This post originally appeared on Warriors Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!