Warriors Are “Crying About Physicality” Says Rockets Head Coach

The Houston Rockets defeated the Golden State Warriors in an important Western Conference matchup on Sunday night. The contest was one of high intensity, and included what looked like a heated exchange between Warriors star Steph Curry and Rockets head coach Ime Udoka.

Udoka Calls Out Curry, Warriors For “Crying About Physicality”

Late in the first half, tempers flared on the court. Draymond Green and Alperen Sengun found themselves in a hand fighting match during an inbounds play, which resulted in Sengun catching an elbow in the chin area from Green. The Warriors forward was assessed a technical foul, escalating the situation, which was immediately followed with Sengun taunting Green after a tough and-1.

It all happened with less than a minute left in the opening half, and led to an animated conversation between Curry and Udoka as the teams walked headed into the locker rooms. It is unclear what was said during the exchange, and Curry made a joke in his post game press conference when asked about the context of the talk.

But Udoka wasn’t joking when he was asked, nor did he hold back on his feelings:

“When people start complaining about foul calls or crying about physicality, you’ve done your job…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”

There have always been complaints from the Warriors regarding Curry and the referees. There is a sentiment that the superstar player lacks the superstar whistle, and that he is often manhandled by opposing teams and doesn’t receive the foul calls that he deserves.

It seems that the issue was the main topic of conversation during the exchange between Curry and Udoka.

Steph Curry on the Ime Udoka back-and-forth: “He made a reservation to International Smoke and canceled it. I was upset with him.” pic.twitter.com/Sy7D0rfJH3

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 7, 2025

There is an outside chance that the two will meet in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. The Rockets are nearly locked into the no.2 seed in the West, while the Warriors are one of five teams separated by a half-game or less and battling for the 4th through 8th seeds.

The path to the two sides having to face each other in a best-of-seven series would include the Warriors participating in the Play-In Tournament, and winning the 7 vs 8 matchup next week.