SAN FRANCISCO — Contrary to what Steph Curry claimed afterward — with his tongue planted firmly in the cheek — his halftime war of words with Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka was not about a canceled dinner reservation at his wife’s International Smoke restaurant.
The Warriors star was getting handled in the kind of way you seldom see, locked up by a second-year wing, Amen Thompson, who grew up in Oakland and attended Curry’s basketball camps yet, somehow, was a die-hard LeBron James fan who “hated the Warriors,” as he shared afterward.
Curry entered on a torrid three-game streak, having scored 125 points combined in wins over the Grizzlies, Lakers and Nuggets. But he went ice cold against the Rockets. Curry missed nine of his 10 shots, failing to find a crack of daylight. He had more turnovers (four) than points (three) in the Rockets’ 106-96 win.
While exiting to the locker room at halftime, Curry appeared to be voicing his displeasure to officials about the way he was being defended. Udoka crossed paths with the conversation and lobbed a jab toward Curry, leading to a terse back-and-forth. Udoka, true to form, wanted all the smoke after all.
“When people start complaining about foul calls or crying about physicality, you’ve done your job,” Udoka told The Athletic when asked about the exchange with Curry. “That’s the first step in winning the battle. So I told my team, when this team starts crying about it, up the intensity, up the aggressiveness, and make the refs adjust to you.”
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6260557/2025/04/07/steph-curry-warriors-lose-to-rockets/
40 comments
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Amen Thompson is him. Dude is unbelievable.
Guy was getting mauled and held all game.
If they guard SGA the same way he might get 40 FTs
Keep the same energy for playoffs Udoka
That’s the blueprint to defend Steph Curry, you hold him off ball and fould the fuck out off him in the most blatant way possible, so much that the refs will start to alllow it and normalize it.
That’s why Ty Lue and the Cavs admitted was the gameplan for him in 2016.
As someone that doesn’t understand basketball as well as you guys, I don’t understand why he doesn’t get more calls. Does he just not complain enough?
Udoka is correct here that the best way to play defense is to be extremely physical and make the refs adjust to you. They can’t call every foul
There were possessions where Amen Thompson was literally hugging curry putting his entire body on him. I don’t even know how that’s allowed in basketball, should we just draft sumo wrestlers from now on to hold superstars and ground them?
As a Warriors fan, I know every team fouls off the ball. Including us. It isn’t only defenders guarding Steph…
But if the refs actually looked off ball and call fouls that are real fouls, Steph would be unstoppable.
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I love how Amen attend Curry’s basketball camps but is still a LeBron Stan and hates the warriors.
The best way to play defense is just foul
Udoka can eat a dick. That wasn’t defense, that was battery. The Rockets, mainly FVV and Brooks, were hugging and shoving Curry the entire game. That was pathetic by the refs and the rockets.
“make the refs adjust to you.” Damning game plan for Sliver and the ref association.
Babe, wake up. Rockets and Warriors are toxic rivals again.
What I don’t like is letting defenders literally put their arms around Steph when he’s off the ball.
It got extreme last night.
The refs are calling the softest calls the other way, so I suppose he means Refs have done their job
the man doesn’t get calls, mans out here like a rookie
I am not someone to speak on behalf of the Warriors. The screen game being bastardized league wide to make Curry more of a star sucks. At least that’s league wide now. No worse in GS than anywhere but for god sakes Thompson literally had BOTH arms wrapped around Curry’s waste a bunch of times and EVERY out of bounds play for GS. Pleeeeeeeeeaaaaasssse don’t make this a new “no call”. Curry and everybody getting to two hand push is the latest one by the way. As I said in another post there is NO OTHER sport that allows wrapping up a guys waist with two arms in any way. Football, soccer, hockey you name it. You can’t play any sport while being held around the waist.
I remember Jrue Holiday on a podcast talking about guarding Curry and how impossible it was until he just started fouling and hacking him and realized the refs weren’t calling it. I am okay with it though, rather a star player who overcomes fouling and biased refs than stars who make the game unwatchable play acting and baiting. Ethical basketball always wins anyway. Udoka is also 100% correct, I like gritty teams who are physical and tough defensively long as they aren’t flopping like @#$% the other side of the court. If the refs let you get away with it you have done your job
As a warriors fan, I’m actually glad that he shared this. Now NBA and referees seeing this would counter this adjustment in playoffs. lol
Per the NBA handbook. Hugging is a foul. If refs followed their own rules, the entire Houston roster woulda fouled out. But the Warriors breathe on Jalen Green and it’s a foul. Worst officiated game of the season. Probably the worst officiated game in several years. Call it on both sides. Or don’t call it on both sides. But this constant favoring of one team is getting stale. Awfully convenient the NBA has partnerships with sports betting apps and officiating has been getting worse in tandem with the rise of legalized online gambling. Shits rigged as fuck.
Funny way to admit you can’t figure out how to defend without having the refs on your side.
Lol, of course Udoka wants a dig at Curry. Curry “ruined his life”.
In Udoka’s favorite time line, Curry doesn’t go 超 スーパー サイヤ 人 on the Celtics in 2022, and Udoka doesn’t fall into a spiral of despair to start an inappropriate relationship wirh an underling, leading to him being fired from the Celtics and ending up in this shit hole in Houston. In his “best time line” Ime is a 4 time champion coaching Jayson Tatum… “If not for that meddling Steph Curry!!!!”
incoming 70 pts for steph forsure lmao
I mean the refs just allow him to be hugged the entire game.
Kobe rapist
I don’t think the matchup will take place but a rockets warriors series would be great.
Steph needs to pull a SGA or Sengun type flopperformance. Dude literally got Draymond to 4 fouls in the first half by whiplashing his head everytime they touched.
I totally get that sentiment from Udoka but Curry is legit one of the most disrespected superstars when it comes to officiating him.
Dude gets mauled and doesn’t get calls. He’s only averaged over 6 FTAs a game once in his career.
Yep. It’s crazy how officials decide to call games. I’m not saying the officials were calling it one sided because I didn’t see that, but the way the were allowing the grabbing on Curry was just wrong. There’s nobody on the Rockets that needs to be defended this way so it ended up being a one sided advantage.
Udoka needs to sleep with another intern to calm down
Reading this statement and the comments wanting people to grab and maul Curry, is bewildering.
I never cared for players who foul and hack cause the other guy is too skilled for them to deal with in a fair way. Whether it be Amen, Brooks, or yes even fucking Draymond.
I just want to see exciting players like Curry, Jokic, Kyrie play pure basketball. Not this fouling and then the response foul baiting shit.
It should be about pure skill. If you are not good enough then get better or fuck off. Don’t ruin the game.
Saying I’ll do illegal shit cause I’m not good enough, and let the refs catch me is such awful attitute.
It’s like I’ll keep committing crime cause I got no morals, it’s for the the law to catch me. Wtf is this thinking. How far have you fallen.
As to the argument about moving screens. I’ll happily trade moving screen for fair treatment of Curry off ball.
As a Curry fan I’ve seen this before. Amen is not the first one. It was Brooks, Dortutre, Michel jail and others. In each case it was more illegal defense than skill that stopped Curry.
Seems you guys are so obsessed with winning you’d rather see players like Curry, Jokic getting mauled than enjoy good skilled basketball.
Actually last time somebody complained about Udoka’s physicality he was quickly fired.
What if curry just stiff arms him
I know this sub is filled with with Warriors fans so the narrative is always going to be in Curry’s favor, but this is just how a ton of superstars get guarded. Not guys like Harden or Shai, but guys with super soft whistles like Luka. Just watch any Luka game and dude gets mauled out there. But we rarely see posts about it.
It feels so good reading Warriors fans get salty about calls. Just a little justice for what they’ve gotten away with over the years 😋
When u play like Steph curry and dominate. You gotta do something, physical defense is allowed but what was happening last nite was prison basketball
I can’t wait for Udoka to call Steph a soft little boy like he did with LeBron 😭
Ime really beefing with lebron James, Steph curry, and Nia long man he really hates legends of their fields