Since their Game 2 loss out in Houston, the Golden State Warriors have rattled off two straight wins and, now, hold a 3-1 series lead over the Rockets as they head back to the Bay Area for a potential series-clinching affair on Wednesday night.
Though every contest throughout this first-round showdown has certainly been entertaining, their recent down-to-the-wire Game 4 victory may have proven to be the most exciting so far.
This was, in large part, thanks to Jimmy Butler.
Despite still clearly being hampered by a glute contusion that held him out of their previous bout, the All-Star opted to give it a go on Monday.
While the night may have started a bit slow for the 14-year pro, as he made just one shot and registered an abysmal plus-minus of -7 throughout his entire first half of play, he wound up pulling a complete 180 during the final two periods, pacing all players in points with 23 while shooting 66.7 percent from the field en route to an epic 109-106 win.
Following the game, Butler hinted that his late second-quarter spat with Rockets wing Dillon Brooks lit a fire under him upon coming out of the break, saying, "That's all it takes -- somebody to say something to me gets me going every single time."
What's interesting about this chain of events is that it closely resembles those of the 2023 quarterfinals between the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooks' previous team, the Memphis Grizzlies.
Frankly, when looking back on how things ultimately unfolded in this series, Warriors fans should be hoping for a similar turnout.
Warriors star echoes LeBron James with response to Dillon Brooks
During the third quarter of what ultimately was a series-tying Game 2 win for Memphis, Brooks and Lakers superstar LeBron James exchanged pleasantries in quite a similar fashion to what took place between Brooks and the Warriors star on Monday night.
Following the contest, the wing was asked if he believed jawing with one of the better players in the game was a good idea, considering the possible motivation it could give them.
His response: "I poke bears. I don't respect no one until they give me 40. I pride myself on what I do, which is defense and taking on any challenge that's on the board."
Now, though James may not have ended up dropping 40 or more points during that series, it goes without saying that his play following their third-quarter interaction easily warranted Brooks' respect.
From that 8:06 mark onward, LeBron went on to post sensational averages of 19.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.0 assists on 47.4 percent shooting while leading the charge to a 4-2 series win.
Interestingly enough, just like this 2023 matchup, Brooks finds himself on the second-seeded team going up against a seventh-seed with a top-flight star showing extra drive thanks to his on-court shenanigans.
Heading into Wednesday's Game 5, both Butler and the Warriors will be looking to follow in the footsteps of James and the Lakers by pulling off an upset in the first round, and making Dillon Brooks regret anointing himself as a bear poker.