Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry is arguably the best offensive player in the history of basketball. But that was not the case on Sunday night, as the Houston Rockets put the clamps on the two-time NBA Most Valuable Player.
Curry was a non-factor in the game, scoring just three points on an atrocious 1-for-10 shooting from the floor while also putting up bricks on all but one of his eight attempts from behind the arc.
Rockets forward Amen Thompson can also be credited for Curry's horrible offensive night. Thompson had his fingerprints all over Golden State's struggles on offense, especially on Curry's.
With Warriors veteran power forward Draymond Green garnering Defensive Player of the Year noise of late, particularly after his fantastic job in a recent matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, Thompson seemingly had success turning that DPOY attention to himself with an incredible job on that end of the floor versus Golden State.
Curry entered the Rockets game on a fiery three-game stretch in which he averaged 41.7 points on 51.3 percent shooting from the floor, 50 percent success rate from shots taken from deep and a 66.5 effective field goal percentage. That factored in his 52-point eruption in a road victory over the Memphis Grizzlies. But he apparently failed to sustain his sizzling form versus the Rockets, with Thompson finding his way against the future Basketball Hall of Famer.
Fans have surely taken notice of the body of work that Thompson put up defensively in the Dubs game.
“Amen Thompson 1st Team All-Defense,” one said.
Article Continues Below“DPOY AMEN THOMPSON Had SGA and Steph in hell back to back nights,” another social media user noted, referencing Oklahoma City Thunder star and MVP contender Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scoring 22 points on an inefficient 10-for-22 shooting from the field and 1-for-6 from the 3-point region in a previous Houston contest.
That was echoed by a different X user: “Amen Thompson CLAMPED SGA and Steph Curry in back to back games.DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR”
Same goes with this fan: “There isn’t a single player that has been a better defender this year than Amen Thompson. Why isn’t he DPOY?”
Another commenter shared: “I’m gonna say it again: Amen Thompson is the DPOY. First Team All-Defense AT MINIMUM. Argue with your mother.”
After beating the Warriors, 106-96, the Rockets will look to extend their win streak to four games when they take on the Los Angeles Clippers in Inglewood this coming Wednesday.