“Hate Turning the Ball Over”: Jimmy Butler Reflects on What Could’ve Prevented Warriors’ 107–111 Loss to Mavericks

Jimmy Butler conceded his first loss as a Warrior tonight and was left with a few things to reflect upon. Although he had a good game, nearly getting a double-double, he committed a turnover in the final seconds, which contributed to the loss to the Mavericks. Butler reflected on the turnover issue during a locker room interview.

The forward stated that turnovers and allowing the Mavericks to get into a rhythm in the end were the biggest mistakes made by his team. However, nothing cost them more than the 15 turnovers they committed in the game.

Butler has been a low-turnover guy for most of his career, so losing a game because of that has to sting more. He personally had a turnover with 18 seconds left on the clock which led to the game closing at 111-107 for the home team. He said, “I hate turning the ball over. I don’t think that’s what I’m supposed to be doing.”

The 35-year-old said that he has to “do better” moving forward and has to ensure that he doesn’t commit any late turnovers because those mistakes dictate the game’s outcome. “My goodness, if I don’t get a turnover, we’d probably win,” he added. Butler, Draymond Green, and Brandin Podziemski had three turnovers each. Gui Santos had two turnovers, and Stephen Curry had four, the most in the game.

Jimmy Butler: “I hate turnovers. I don’t turn the ball over. (Protecting the ball) is what I’m supposed to be doing. That’s tough. I gotta be better. Damn sure late game, at that.” pic.twitter.com/ypH8EOe3RK

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 13, 2025

Historically, the Warriors have been known to be a high-turnover team. One would’ve expected the addition of Butler to help the team in that aspect, but unfortunately, the effect rubbed the wrong way last night. Jimmy B and the Dubs hope that they can correct this going forward, and he can return to his low turnover ways, and help lead the team there too.

Butler had 21 points in the game with nine rebounds and seven assists while shooting 8 of 17 from the field. When asked how his scoring, touch, and jumper feel right now to him, he said, “A little off. I think my awareness is off a little bit as well.”

Prior to making his Warriors debut, Butler was sidelined for nearly a month. Now that he’s starting to get back into action and identify and work on his issues, he believes that the All-Star break is coming at a bad time for him.

He said, “For everybody else, they probably definitely need a break.” But he is not going to wait around for the regular season to resume. Instead, Butler stated that he would work on his game during the break so that when the team gets back together, he will be able to give his best to them.