NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: ROCKETS vs WARRIORS

April 26, 2025

Ime Udoka

Game 3 - Postgame Media Conference

Golden State Warriors 104, Houston Rockets 93

IME UDOKA: Playing good overall basketball. They did what they did, went after Jalen quite a bit and everybody was making him pay from there. Letting certain guys shoot it, rotating the nonshooters out of the blitzes is what allowed them to get back in the game. I don't think it was a problem far as handling it. We got the lead, and just didn't maintain it and let them back into three at halftime.

Q. Fred had a hot start and scored only three points in the last three quarters. What did they do to take him out of the game, and why do you think he has not been much of a scoring factor in the series?

IME UDOKA: They have been going after him and Jalen quite a bit in the pick-and-rolls. Kind of hawking them full-court. When they did put two bodies on the ball, we didn't do a good enough job making them pay tonight. As you saw, we were 19 for 48 in the paint. That's not good enough, point-blank layups or floaters or making the right read from there you have to convert those. They did, with Payton and Green slipping out and we didn't.

Q. What was the impetus for a lot of that blitzing and trapping in do you feel like you can't really guard Curry as much one-on-one?

IME UDOKA: It's not one-on-one. It's the pick-and-roll.

Q. The way you go about that --

IME UDOKA: We go after him quite a bit and make the others have to beat us. When they have certain lineups out there it's favorable to force it to the other guys and make them beat us. Payton hit a big one tonight when they were up one, and that's a gamble we're going to take at times. But something we have done quite a bit is gone after him, and so obviously worked out well enough, and they having scored over a hundred in a few games.

Q. The last five minutes or so, they forced you into a lot of tough shots, contested shots. What did you see on the offensive end for you guys down the stretch where you were not quite able to score to keep up?

IME UDOKA: They have their physicality on defense and then when we did have the good looks, like I said we missed a lot of point-blank stuff at the basket, little floaters and some layups. They did what they did all game. We did what we can all game. Payton and some of their guys rolling out made plays. We didn't.

Q. You mentioned the issues that you guys had tonight. Do you feel they are easily correctible? Did tonight feel hike a missed opportunity?

IME UDOKA: Yeah, I mean, we know they are still dangerous without Butler, so that doesn't change anything as far as that.

I think it's something we have seen all year. Teams go after Jalen. Obviously had a big game last game and so we expected that coming in. When he does his job and has two on the ball and gets it to guys they have to make him pay behind it.

So nothing new as far as that. Like I said teams have done it all year and their gamble paid off. We didn't make them pay, especially with the paint shots. So something you can easily correct is obviously taking care of the ball a little bit better, finding the outlets out of that and making them pay.

It's a gamble on both sides when both teams are blitzing each other, and like I said their guys made a few more plays than our guys tonight.

Q. Amen has had struggles in this series and this game specifically, guarding with the center. How do you feel about the way he's been playing offensively and what you can do to get him going?

IME UDOKA: He was one of the guys that missed quite a few opportunities tonight. We use him in each way as a handler, screener and every other way. He had some roles in the pocket, brought him up and set the screen and he didn't get out in the pocket, and like I said, he didn't convert a lot of those easy ones.

And so we do use him several different ways, obviously handling and playing the dunker and setting screens. There's a lot of ways to move around the court, and when he's in attack mode get downhill, they do put a bigger body on him. They still collapse the paint, and he got find his out threats there. Felt like he got in trouble penetrated too much and missed some of the kick outs.

Q. The Warriors ended up with an advantage in second chants pots at any time. You didn't play the double-big lineup all that much. Do you feel like that might have helped to combat some of the rebounding issues?

IME UDOKA: No. I think that was a big thing for sure that they beat us in that area. You know, we were up three at halve and they had the lead as far as that and I think it was 16-4 overall second-chance points. Area we can't get hurt and it was a lot of their wings crashing. It wasn't as much, I wouldn't say Looney or their big bodies. It was a lot of wings crashing. Doing a good job scrambling, making them rebound shots we've got to come up with some stops.