HOUSTON — With his team down 3-1 in its first-round playoff matchup against the Warriors, Amen Thompson leaned against the wall and stared out into the gym at Houston’s Memorial Hermann training facility, smiling as smooth R&B music hummed in the background.
“[I feel] amazing,” he said at the Rockets’ morning shootaround Wednesday. “I feel great.”
Thompson had just watched the Detroit Pistons stave off elimination against the New York Knicks a night earlier as his twin brother, Ausar, scored 22 points to go with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. So Amen Thompson knew his time was coming, too, based off patterns from that Eastern Conference series that appear to mirror what has transpired with the Rockets in the West.
“Every game they’ve won, we won after,” Thompson said. “So that’s what I take from it.”
Thompson then snatched away even more from the Warriors in Game 5 on Wednesday night. He notched five steals in the first half to establish a tone of tenacity on defense that galvanized the Rockets in a 131-116 romp that forced Game 6 on Friday in San Francisco.
Thompson finished with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 blocks and 3 assists. He became the first Rockets player in the past 25 postseasons to score 10 points with 5 steals in a half, as Houston surged to a 76-49 lead at intermission. He also became the first player since Charles Barkley in 1993 to tally 25 points, 5 steals and 3 blocks in a playoff game.
Thompson conducted a defensive clinic guarding Stephen Curry, while Dillon Brooks clamped down on Jimmy Butler. Together, Houston’s defensive stalwarts limited the Golden State stars to 13 and 8 points, respectively, on 6-of-22 shooting.
“He took it personal, and that’s what we need from him every single night,” Brooks said. “As a defender, you have to take the matchup personal. He was reading Steph, reading a lot of the guys, staying in front, being disciplined on the defensive end without reaching. We need that Amen every single game because we’re going to go against guys like Steph again. That same mentality, that tenacity that he was playing with gives us a lot of energy, gives us a lot of extra possessions, and it makes their best player timid and think. That’s what we need: their best players to think, think, think the game instead of playing in the flow.”
Thompson logged his first steal off Brandin Podziemski at 7:44 of the first quarter and zipped to the basket, where he was fouled and knocked down a pair of free throws to give Houston a 17-8 lead. Steal No. 2 came a little more than two minutes later, when he picked Curry’s pocket and raced the other way for a putback layup off his own transition miss.
Just 12 seconds later, Thompson ripped Curry again as Houston built a 40-24 lead to end the opening frame.
Houston led by 30 points with 7:02 remaining in the first half and led by as many as 31 in the third quarter.
“All them steals,” Rockets guard Jalen Green said when asked what stood out about Thompson’s performance. “I’m running down the court facing the other way, and the whole thing goes the other way. I’m like, ‘Dang.’ All the steals were impressive for sure, just him locking in defensively, being aggressive offensively.”
On the offensive end, Thompson connected on 8 of 12 field goals and drilled his lone 3-point attempt. The rest of the Rockets shot with near surgical precision, too, led by Fred VanVleet (8-for-13, game-high 26 points) and Brooks (7-for-13, 24 points).
Alperen Sengun chipped in 15 points for a Rockets team that shot 55.1% from the field and 43.3% from 3-point range.
Houston scored 18 points off 14 Warriors turnovers.
And it was Thompson who sparked the Rockets’ first-half defensive frenzy. He became the fifth player to post 25 points, 5 steals and 3 blocks in a playoff game since 1974, when blocks became official.
Ausar and Amen Thompson are now just the fifth pair of brothers over the past 30 years to each log a 20-point performance in the same postseason.
“It’s hard to pick up full court a guy like Curry,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Obviously, they’re setting high screens for him. So, playing without fouling is a big thing. [Amen] got his hands on a few balls, got those steals and ignited us there. That’s kind of what he does regardless of the opponent. Offensively, finding his rhythm, getting downhill and attacking [was big]. [He played] a very well-rounded game.”
