The Golden State Warriors came out of their game on Saturday night with a dominant 136-116 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. This win moved them to five games above .500 and marked their 11th win over their last 15 games.

The nature of this victory was nearly flawless: fiery shooting led to a fast start and some of the best offense the Warriors have played all year, while they did enough on defense to slow the Hornets down and keep them at bay. The Dubs also only turned the ball over 11 times and simply did things as a whole.

Thus, it might be surprising to learn they did all of that without Jimmy Butler. It was announced just minutes before tipoff that Butler would not be playing in the game — he had even been announced to be a part of the starting lineup. It ended up being reported as personal reasons for Butler's absence, and the Warriors did well to manage this untimely revelation and come away with the strong victory.

After the game, Steve Kerr discussed what he learned about Butler's unexpected absence.

"I have not talked to (Butler), but I got the word from (general manager Mike Dunleavy) that everything is fine. He just had a personal thing that came up right before the game. Everything is fine. I don't think (this is anything long-term)."

It's a soothing answer for those who may have been worried that Butler's absence could potentially be an issue down the road that puts the Warriors' recent momentum into jeopardy.

The Warriors made waves when they traded for Butler at the trade deadline last year, and it paid off immediately, as they finished the season 23-7 and made a huge push in the standings that ultimately led to a second-round exit in the playoffs.

This season has been more of the same productivity from Butler, even as the Warriors' overall record struggled earlier this year. Butler has been averaging 20.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.9 assists to go with 1.4 steals on 51.9% shooting from the field and 38.1% from three — all marks that are relatively comparable to his prime stats, even with the lesser minutes and offensive usage.

Butler's been playing his best basketball in the month of January, as well, as he's averaging 21.9 points in his seven games this month. Additionally, his +/- per 200 possessions is at an astounding +12.9, far eclipsing his marks in this stat for any of the previous months.

A good portion of that has to do with the rotation settling in and Butler finding his groove operating as the leader of the second unit. Alongside healthy De'Anthony Melton and Al Horford, along with Brandin Podziemski, these four, who usually operate together when Steph Curry and Draymond Green head to the bench, have excelled. It allows Butler to play as the main creator, a role he's thrived in for years in the NBA, notably with the Miami Heat, and continues to thrive in as a Warrior.

Based on the Warriors' injury report, Butler is expected be back for the Warriors' back-to-back against his former Heat team and the Toronto Raptors, ready to provide his veteran presence once again.