Right before halftime of the Houston Rockets’ 106-96 win over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday night, cameras caught Rockets coach Ime Udoka exchanging words with Warriors superstar Stephen Curry. After the game, both Curry and Udoka were asked about the back-and-forth. Udoka dismissed the exchange as “friendly banter.”
“I was talking to my team about the physicality,” Udoka said. “This is the type of game we like. This is who we are. He said something. I said something. A little friendly banter.”
Curry’s answer was much more entertaining. The Warriors star joked that Udoka had upset him because he had cancelled a reservation to the restaurant International Smoke, which was co-founded by his wife Ayesha. Curry’s teammate Draymond Green thoroughly enjoyed the wisecrack.
Steph Curry on the Ime Udoka back-and-forth: “He made a reservation to International Smoke and canceled it. I was upset with him.” pic.twitter.com/Sy7D0rfJH3
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 7, 2025
“He made a reservation to International Smoke and then he cancelled it,” Curry said with a straight face. “So I was kind of upset with him. We went back-and-forth on that.”
Curry and Green proceeded to break down into a fit of laughter for a few seconds. International Smoke was co-founded by Curry and American celebrity chef Michael Mina. According to its website, it features “bold, globally inspired flavors to the grill in a lively, laid-back atmosphere.” The menu is laden with lighter, flavorful smoked and grilled foods, as Mina explained in a January 2018 article.
Evidently, Udoka didn’t want the smoke.
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