Golden State Warriors' 'Crazy' Stephen Curry Burns Houston Rockets: Notebook
HOUSTON - Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka followed up Sunday's 106-95 loss to the Golden State Warriors by the only way to defend Stephen Curry is to "not help him get going by blowing assignments."
The Rockets, unfortunately, blew it.
Houston trailed the Golden State Warriors by one when Curry drilled a 3-pointer with 5:17 left in the fourth quarter. Before his triple, Curry had a subpar performance of 10 points on 2-of-9 shooting. And given that the Rockets had the momentum, a win wasn't out of reach.
However, Curry's 3-point basket not only extended the Warriors lead to four, but it began a shooting spree that led to the Rockets' loss inside the Toyota Center.
"We guarded him well for the majority of the game," Udoka said. "He had 10 points. But then, there was a missed assignment on a play we walked through that got him an open shot. He started to feel good."
As someone who coached against Curry for six games during the 2022 NBA Finals, Udoka knew the former two-time league MVP was about to get going after making the 3-point field goal. And over the next five possessions, Curry made three additional triples to put the game out of reach for Houston.
Udoka said he kept warning his players that Curry could heat up at any particular moment. But their mishaps defending Curry mark the latest example of the Rockets' misfortunes of fourth-quarter execution.
Curry scored 14 points in the final five minutes, as his fourth-quarter explosion not only showcased Houston's lack of execution but his greatness.
The future Hall-of-Famer has put on several remarkable performances in Houston for nearly a decade. His play against the Rockets to send them to 0-3 on the season was the latest example of how Curry became a thorn in the Rockets' side over the previous eight years.
"He knows how to get to his spots, he knows how to get his shots," Fred VanVleet said. "The crazy part is he probably had better looks in the first half but was able to shake free there.
"Those shots in the fourth quarter were just huge coming down the stretch, especially when you're coming up short on the other end. It's this league, playing against the best every night and Stephen is definitely one of the best in the league and showed why."
Warriors guard Stephen Curry shoots the ball as Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun defends during the fourth quarter at Toyota Center.
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Jae'Sean Tate provides a major lift: If not for Curry's fourth-quarter explosion, the Rockets may have won their first game of the 2023-24 season. The Rockets battled back from double-digit deficits on two separate occasions, and Jae'Sean Tate played a significant role in Houston's comeback attempt.
"His physicality, versatility, he was a really big part of what transpired in the third and fourth quarter," Udoka said. "His toughness, aggressiveness and attention to detail, everybody has to have it for the entire game."
Tate checked in at the 3:42 mark of the third quarter. Houston trailed 72-69 at the time of the substitution, and for the next 10 minutes, he changed the game's momentum.
His playmaking on and off the ball helped the Rockets score 18 points while shooting 42.1 percent as a team. On the defensive end, he anchored a defense that held the Warriors to 28.6 percent shooting.
Tate helped the Rockets outscore the Warriors by five, which led to an 87-85 lead with 6:42 left in the fourth quarter.
"That's kind of how I need to play every night," Tate said. "That's my role on this team. In the first two games, I felt like we didn't come out as the aggressors. I think San Antonio, we did a little better. But I liked how we came out in the second and the beginning of the game."
No moral victories for the Rockets: Everyone who spoke during media day on Oct. 2 highlighted winning as the team's top objective ahead of the 2023-24 season. But three games in, the Rockets are winless.
But unlike the previous two seasons, the Rockets are not accepting moral victories. Tate revealed that he has seen improvements over the previous three games but highlighted the team's mindset following their 0-3 start to the season.
"We're here to win games," Tate said. "That's our main goal. So, we're going to need more growth. We got to learn from these mistakes that we've had these last three games. I thought San Antonio was a game we could have walked away from [with a win]. I think tonight was a game we could have walked away from. So, just finishing games has to be our mindset."
