Adam Silver made the call. The script has been leaked.
All jokes aside, there was one interesting moment caught on camera during the Warriors' 109-94 loss to the Houston Rockets in Game 2 of the Western Conference first-round playoff series that jump-started some NBA fans' conspiratorial minds.
During a timeout, Rockets coach Ime Udoka, who was mic'd up on the TNT broadcast, was heard relaying a message to his team on the bench about their physicality.
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SIGN UP HERE Ime Udoka knows something and we don’t or what? @NBA @OfficialNBARefs? pic.twitter.com/cTdm2MsaSf
— Dreux (@RaiderIsThaName) April 24, 2025
"Keep playing through the contact. Physicality. Don't worry, they're not going to call anything, play through it," Udoka told his team on the bench. "Don't get caught up in that."
It's almost as if he knows ...
Again, just kidding.
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The refs called 17 total fouls on the Rockets and 18 on the Warriors in Game 2. Golden State had 18 free-throw attempts, while Houston had 20. While the stat sheet showed a relatively balanced foul distribution, it was the non-calls in the game that had Warriors fans up in arms, particularly the aggressive defense against superstar point guard Steph Curry.
Warriors star forward Jimmy Butler also was on the receiving end of Houston's physicality, and he left the game late in the first quarter after falling straight onto his lower back in a collision with Rockets forward Amen Thompson on a defensive rebound attempt.
Jimmy Butler hit the ground hard after being undercut by Amen Thompson đŸ˜³ pic.twitter.com/Icd2wBF50U
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 24, 2025
Butler was ruled out with a pelvis contusion and will receive an MRI on Thursday in San Francisco. Thompson was assessed a standard personal foul, while many fans thought the foul should have been upgraded to at least a Flagrant 1 or possibly a Flagrant 2.
While the refs did call a foul on that play, perhaps Udoka had a point in his assessment of the officials' view of the Rockets' physicality.