Dillon Brooks makes fatal Jimmy Butler mistake as Warriors take decisive 3-1 lead

"Sometimes you've got to let sleeping dogs lie"

They were the words of TNT analyst Reggie Miller after Jimmy Butler returned to lead the Golden State Warriors to a huge 109-106 Game 4 victory over the Houston Rockets at Chase Center on Monday night.

Still clearly hampered by the glute contusion that saw him miss the previous seven quarters of the series, Butler was quiet in the first-half upon his return in the potentially series-defining game. Yet Houston Rockets foe Dillon Brooks made the pivotal mistake of lighting a fire under Butler just before half-time, getting into it with the 6x All-Star at the free-throw line in what may be a fatal error in his team's chances of advancing.

Jimmy Butler returned to lead the Warriors to victory on Monday night

In a game that had it all, Butler was the deciding factor down the stretch with 14 fourth-quarter points as part of 27 for the game. The 35-year-old had 11 of Golden State's final 14 points in the final six minutes, including three made free-throws after none other than Brooks fouled him on a 3-point shot with the scores tied at 104.

With his team clinging to a one-point lead in the final 20 seconds, it was Draymond Green who came up with the clutch defensive stop on Alperun Sengun. Butler soared in for the rebound and converted two more free-throws, before Fred VanVleet's flying attempted game-tying three came up well short.

Green left the game early in the third with his fifth foul, leaving Sengun to have a big scoring period as Steve Kerr even tried second-year center Trayce Jackson-Davis for significant playing time.

The Warriors entered the fourth up two as the teams once again went back-and-forth in the second-half, with the visitors responding to find themselves up four with just over six minutes left. Yet Butler, motivated by the antagonist Brooks, pushed through the pain barrier to deliver a signature playoff performance with 27 points, five rebounds and six assists.

Up until the final stretch Golden State had relied on others to produce scoring as Stephen Curry was limited to just 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting. The Warriors got the best playoff performance of Brandin Podziemski's career to date, with the second-year guard going for 26 points, five rebounds and five assists on 9-of-18 shooting and 6-of-11 from 3-point range.

Kerr also made the bold call to start Buddy Hield over Moses Moody, proving the right decision as the often-frustrating guard going for 15 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Quinten Post also added 20 points, four rebounds and three assists off the bench, but Golden State otherwise got little from their bench as Jonathan Kuminga was again a DNP amid Butler's return.

The Rockets got 56 combined points from Sengun (31) and VanVleet (25), but Jalen Green again struggled and was benched down the stretch as Ime Udoka tried to overwhelm the hosts with size. Houston will look back and regret their 19-of-31 free-throw shooting, particularly given Butler was 12-of-12 and Golden State 20-of-22 as a team.

The Warriors can close out the series with a win back in Houston in Game 5 on Wednesday.