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…
