Tiktukno: summary of today's events in sports, 4.4/Sport1
The biting battle between Houston and Golden State continues, on and off the court. Ahead of tonight's meeting (between Thursday and Friday) in Texas, the Rockets' player, Tarry Eason, appeared with a taunting message to the opponent's players with the inscription on his shirt: "Warriors, let's play" (a quote from the mythological movie "The Warriors"). Eason, a relatively negligible bench player in Houston, already brought up a similar story with the same caption, which at the time received a mocking and disparaging response from Draymond Green.
After tonight's game ended with a crushing 110:133 win for Golden State, it was also Klay Thompson's turn to answer. "It's pretty lame, considering the fact that the guy isn't even playing," said Thompson, who scored 29 points and was the main factor behind the Warriors' victory that came close to securing a playoff spot. "Going up to play and trying to back up your statements is one thing - but if you just sit on the sidelines with a shirt like that, then what are you even doing?"
Steph Curry also responded to the crisis, but in a slightly more creative way. A minute and a half to go, after the victory is already assured, he puts bottles between his fingers, a "tribute" to the same movie that Eason quoted.
"More than anything, it's fun to go on the floor and beat these guys. There was a lot of noise around them, there are quite a few trolls, and I'm glad we beat them," Klay Thompson added.
Joel Embiid came back sharp and determined, and if you believe him - the burden of the MVP no longer resting on him makes life easier for him. Embiid, still the reigning MVP, cannot win the individual award this season either after missing too many games, despite his impressive numbers. After scoring 29 points in Philadelphia's 105:109 victory in Miami, in his second game since returning from injury, he told why he is "happy" to stay out of the MVP discussions this season as well.
"I'm glad I'm not included in the discussion, because the discussion about it has become quite toxic," he said, adding sarcastically: "Honestly, this season is a bit boring on this topic, there's not enough poison." According to Embiid, "I'm satisfied that I'm not even close to this discussion, I'm excited to get back healthy and fit. They're all great candidates and they all deserve to win the title, it's a shame that only one will win it in the end."
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Freed from unnecessary thoughts. Embiid/GettyImages, Megan Briggs
"We are not the same." Westbrook sinks, Jokic watches/GettyImages, Harry How
Nikola Jokic continues to prove himself as a triple-double machine, but Russell Westbrook is not particularly impressed. Tonight, Jokic produced 36 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists against the Russ Clippers, and recorded triple double number 24 of the season, as he approaches third place all-time in the number of career triple doubles (which currently belongs to Magic Johnson). It didn't help him win the game, and the Clippers celebrated a 100:102 victory after Jokic missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
One way or another, Westbrook, who leads the category, was asked at the end of the game about the comparison between him and Jokic, and about the similarities against the background of the ability of both to fill the statistics pages in many aspects.
"No, don't put me in there. Nobody like me. Just nobody like me. Stop it, because nobody plays like me. Nicolas is a piece of player, but he's not like me, and I'm not like him either," said Westbrook, who finished the The game with 12 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists in 24 minutes.
More on the same topic:
Golden State Warriors
Russell Westbrook
Joel Embiid