The Golden State Warriors needed someone to step up for Game 3 against the Houston Rockets with Jimmy Butler sidelined with a deep glute contusion. And while Stephen Curry, who finished with 36 points, can always be penciled in for a high-scoring performance, the Dubs needed someone else to kick in on offense.

The Warriors got what they needed from two guys: Buddy Hield and Gary Payton II. The bench duo combined for 33 points, doing damage from inside the paint and beyond the arc, helping the Dubs to a 104-93 win over the Houston Rockets. Payton talked about some of the adjustments the Warriors made in the absence of Butler.

“Protect Jimmy at all costs. Have Jimmy's back and when he gets back, be ahead [in the series]. Tonight, everyone stepped up and made plays down the stretch. Hopefully, we get him back for Game 4.”

But an important part of Hield and Payton's big games was how they capitalized on the Rockets' defensive game plan. The Warriors understood Ime Udoka and Houston's game plan was to blitz Curry whenever it was convenient, so he leaned heavily into the high pick-and-roll with GP2 as the screener, as Steve Kerr stated in his press conference.

“Buddy is one of the best shooters in the league, and he's always capable of making shots,” Kerr explained. “And because of the constant blitzing of Steph, it opened up the floor, and we finally figured out how to space the floor and get the ball swung in that blitz.”

GP2 was critical in that area for Golden State. With Houston's defense tilted toward doubling Curry, he served as Curry's screener/outlet in the high pick-and-roll, soaring to the rim again and again to close out the Rockets.

Kerr's offensive game plan wasn't the only tactical maneuver he employed in Game 3. On defense, Kerr was lights out in adjusting to the Rockets' offensive punch in the previous Game 2.

Kerr opened the game with Jonathan Kuminga on Alperen Sengun and Quinten Post on Amen Thompson. The Kuminga-Sengun matchup was designed to allow Draymond Green to roam as the anchor of the defense. With the Post-Thompson matchup, Kerr took advantage of Thompson's lack of perimeter shooting by hiding Post on him, daring him to shoot shaky jumpers.

Kerr's tactic was a callback to Round 2 of the 2015 playoffs when Kerr unconventionally put center Andrew Bogut onto non-shooter Tony Allen in Game 4 down 2-1 to the Memphis Grizzlies. In this case, Post's 7-foot frame forced Thompson away from where he's deadliest: slashing off the ball.

But the Kuminga-Sengun matchup wasn't foolproof. Fred VanVleet got free because there was no point-of-attack defender to hound him, and Kuminga was falling asleep when off the ball on defense.

So, how did Kerr adjust? He switched Kuminga onto the perimeter and matched Green (and sometimes Kevon Looney) back up with Sengun. Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski were instrumental in holding Jalen Green in check for only nine points following his 38 points in Game 2.

From there, Kerr went back to old reliable: his small-ball lineup with GP2 at the 4 and Green at center. Saving Green for Sengun until the second half had the added bonus of giving the former DPOY enough stamina to lock up Sengun in the fourth quarter.

There is a good reason why Kerr is sixth all-time in playoff wins as a head coach, and it is not just having Stephen Curry on his team. He's one of the best tacticians when it comes to playoff basketball.

The Warriors' Game 3 win felt like two wins. They won a game they looked destined to lose without Butler, and they avoided a high-pressure Game 4 at home down 2-1 with Butler questionable to return.

As for Butler's status for Game 4, there is some optimism from Golden State. Per ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel, Butler would have gutted through Game 3 if it was up to him, but he did not get the green light from the Warriors' medical staff. With another 36 hours of rest, there is hope Butler can be available on Monday to help the Dubs build on their 2-1 lead.

Regardless, the Warriors will need more games like this from Hield and Payton, with or without Butler, who will not be 100% if he does return. In his postgame interview, Hield talked about building on his important performance.

“I missed a couple [of shots] I needed to make,” Hield said after he went 5-0f-11 from beyond the arc. “But thank god we got the win, you got to stay humble, keep working, and hopefully Monday we come back with the same response. We know [the Rockets] are going to watch film and see what they can do better to get going. But we need to watch them too and try to take two games at home and go up three.”