The Golden State Warriors have won four of the last nine NBA championships. They employ the undisputed greatest shooter in NBA history, another all-time marksman, the most impactful defender of his generation and a player who's fully deserving of the nickname ‘Point God,' all of whom are well past their playing primes, aged into their mid-30s or beyond them. What, you thought the Dubs were too accomplished, experienced and mature to be petty?
Golden State blew out the Houston Rockets 133-110 on Thursday at Toyota Center, extending a league-best winning streak to a season-long six games. More importantly, the Warriors effectively ended the upstart Rockets' hopes of surpassing them for the final play-in berth in the Western Conference, moving four games ahead of Ime Udoka's team in the standings with just six left to play.
It wasn't even the opportunity to dash a team's postseason dreams that had Golden State frothing entering Thursday's game. Ongoing taunts from injured Houston forward Tari Eason clearly served as motivation enough for the Dubs, who made sure to acknowledge that dynamic after the final buzzer.
“A great performance, much-needed win and above all, it was just a lot of fun to beat these guys,” Klay Thompson told NBC Sports Bay Area during an on-court interview. “I know there’s been a lot of noise and a lot of trolling. Felt pretty sweet to come in here and get a win. A lot of great history in this building; always fun to do it in Houston.”
Thompson spearheaded one of the Warriors' most comprehensive efforts of the season in H-Town, dropping 21 of his 29 points in the first half on a series of vintage jumpers from all over the perimeter. Stephen Curry matched Thompson's 29 points, too, just 48 hours after the Splash Brothers combined for 27 points on 32 shot attempts in a hard-earned home win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Tari Eason rocking a "Warriors Come Out To Play" shirt.
Rockets currently trail the Dubs by 18 late in the 3rd quarter 😬 pic.twitter.com/ZxgHbq1a1c
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) April 5, 2024
Asked specifically about Eason's fire-stoking attire on the postgame podium, Thompson couldn't help but pounce once again.
“Yeah, that’s pretty lame, especially if you’re not even playing. Like it’s one thing if you’re playing and you’re out there competing and you back it up, but if you’re just gonna be trolling from the sideline. Like, bro, what are we doing?” he said of Eason. “At times we talk mess, at least we’re out there competing. I’m not gonna—that’s all I have to say about that.”
Warriors end ‘soft or scared' Rockets' play-in hopes
Udoka didn't mince words about his team's disappointing effort with its season on the line. Then again, it would've been impossible to watch the early stretches of Thursday's game and come to any other conclusion than the one he so plainly admitted to reporters.
“It looked like the moment was too big for a lot of players out there. I saw it looked like deer in the headlights a little bit,” Udoka said. “We either looked soft or scared, one or the other, two bad things for a lot of our guys to have. Didn’t rise up to the moment like I thought we would.”
Golden State jumped out to a 19-6 lead, swarming a red-hot Jalen Green at the point of attack defensively while laying off Houston's non-shooters. The Rockets never shook free from those shackles in the halfcourt, utterly failing to match the Warriors' own blend of cohesion and execution on the other side of the ball.
You rarely see games in which experience and overall competitive discrepancies are laid out so starkly on the floor. Houston deserves plaudits for at least making Thursday's game interesting before tipoff, but once it started, there was never any doubt which team is better suited to potentially make noise in the play-in tournament—with or without the added incentive of pre-game trash talk.
Rockets’ Tari Eason has a message for the Warriors 😅🤔
(via @TAR13ASON) pic.twitter.com/fiE0fcbSnE
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) March 28, 2024
Maybe next time, Eason will think twice about poking the bear. Their postseason ambitions erased by the Warriors, at least he and the Rockets will soon have ample time to consider a more prudent approach.
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