Rockets Coach Ime Udoka Likes Chippy Play in Warriors Series: ‘That’s Our Identity'

The Houston Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors to even their first round series at 1-1 on Wednesday night. It was a physical game that saw Jimmy Butler take a very hard fall and got very chippy with three technical fouls called on each team in an effort for referees to keep the game from getting out of control.

After the game Rockets coach Ime Udoka spoke to the press and said things went exactly how Houston would like. According to Udoka, the Rockets were built for this type of game.

"That's who we are," said Udoka. "That's our identity for the most part. So like I said from the start of the playoffs, we don't have to flip a switch and try to get tough or get more aggressive. That's kind of what we built everything on and so that carries over to the playoffs. We understand that and if they let us play, both teams, it's in our favor for the most part. Golden State as well is physical. You just have to play through it. You can't expect it on one end and then cry about it on the other. If it gets chippy we've seen over the last few years that works in our favor for the most part. Gets us amped up."

Udoka reminded his team during the game to play through the physical stuff, assuring them it wasn't going to be called.