Rockets coach Ime Udoka gets candid about heated spat with Steph Curry: "That’s the first step in winning the battle"

The Houston Rockets defeated the Golden State Warriors 106-96 on Sunday to secure a top-three seed in the Western Conference. However, an in-game beef between Rockets coach Ime Udoka and Warriors star Steph Curry stole the headlines, and when quizzed about the same, Udoka spoke about how it was just a measure to increase the intensity of his team and get them to up the aggression.

The former Boston Celtics coach is renowned for his hard-nosed style of management and is no stranger to beef. While Curry joked it off during his post-game conference, Udoka explained how he used the beef, which allegedly stemmed from complaints about foul calls and physicality by the Warriors star, to motivate his team.

"When people start complaining about foul calls or crying about physicality, you’ve done your job," Udoka said. "That’s the first step in winning the battle. So I told my team, when this team starts crying about it, up the intensity, up the aggressiveness, and make the refs adjust to you."

The comments by Udoka to The Athletic on Sunday represent the intensity the coach brings to the table, and his beef with Curry arguably favored his team as they took home the crucial victory.

Steph Curry joked about the Rockets coach canceling a dinner reservation as the reason for their beef

While Ime Udoka made a serious assessment of what prompted the beef with Steph Curry, the Golden State Warriors star dismissed it with a joke and ensured that the war of words did not carry on beyond the game.

Curry viewed it as something that just took place in the heat of the moment and cleared the air with a funny quip about how his beef with Udoka was a result of the Rockets coach canceling a reservation at 'International Smoke,' the restaurant enterprise by Ayesha Curry and Michael Mina.

"He had made a reservation at International Smoke and then cancelled it," Curry said. "So I was kind of upset with him when he went back-and-forth on me."

Considering the tight race in the Western Conference, the Warriors and Rockets could meet as early as the first round of the playoffs. Curry and Udoka's beef could add fire to the matchup.