Klay roasts Eason after torching Rockets in Warriors’ win originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
After torching the Rockets for 29 points in his best shooting night of the 2023-24 NBA season, Klay Thompson scorched Houston reserve Tari Eason for trying to get under the Warriors’ skin on social media a week earlier.
Eason, the 17th overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft who has not played since Jan. 1 because of a ongoing leg issue, took to Instagram after the Rockets beat Oklahoma City, the top team in the Western Conference, and took a verbal swipe at Golden State.
Using a line made infamous from the 1979 cult classic “The Warriors,” Eason mocked Golden State while shouting “Warriors, come out to play.” He then repeated the line once more in an even louder voice.
On Thursday, Eason doubled down when he wore a black T-shirt with the same words written in red.
Thompson, who was on the attack all night in the Warriors’ 133-110 win at Toyota Center, came out firing when asked about Eason’s antics during the post-game press conference.
“That’s pretty lame, especially if you’re not even playing,” Thompson told reporters in Houston. “It’s one thing if you’re playing, you’re out there competing and you can back it up. But if you’re just going to be trolling from the sideline, like bro, what are we doing? At times we talk mess, [but] at least we’re out there competing. That’s all I have to say about that.”
“That’s pretty lame. Especially if you’re not even playing.”
Klay didn’t hold back when asked about Tari Eason taunting the Warriors 👀 pic.twitter.com/w0rHuk5ZNu
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) April 5, 2024
Eason’s taunting stirred up a hornet’s nest on social media and inside the Warriors’ locker room.
The day after Eason’s post popped up on Instagram, Draymond Green took umbrage and spoke about it on his podcast, saying basically the same thing that Thompson did, calling out Eason for his comments when he isn’t even playing.
After the game Thursday, Stephen Curry had a little fun with it when he put bottles on his fingertips and clanked them together, the same way one of the lead characters in the movie did before uttering the infamous line.
“Absolutely,” Curry said when asked about it. “Having some fun with it.”
Whether Eason’s comments were a motivating factor for the Warriors in the win Thursday is uncertain for sure, but it clearly lit a fire.
Sometimes that’s all it takes, although Curry maintains his belief that motivation has to come from within.
“That stuff helps, but we don’t need added motivation,” the two-time NBA MVP said. “We’re a proud group of guys that understand we are capable of winning. We’ve played way below our level for most of the year, but for us to be in this situation where we have an opportunity to keep hope alive and see what happens in a couple of weeks, try to get into a playoff series just because we dug deep … this matters to us.
“If you don’t have that drive internally, you’re not going to really get it from [anyone else]. It’s all fake if you get it from somebody else, but it does help to hear some noise.”
Golden State jumped on the Rockets early then cruised to the 23-point victory, the Warriors’ most lopsided win since they smoked the Milwaukee Bucks 125-90 on March 6.
The Warriors had their best shooting night of the 2023-24 NBA season during the win, shooting a season-high 58.8 percent (47 of 80) from the floor and dominating on the boards (43-29).
Warriors coach Steve Kerr wasn’t asked specifically about Eason, but was questioned how he felt now that the Rockets are all but eliminated from playoff contention.
“We’re not thinking anything about that,” Kerr said. “We’re just trying to win. We’re on a nice run right now and playing good basketball. And we’re going to keep doing that for the next six games and see where we land.”
