Amen Thompson's all-around Game 5 powers Rockets by Warriors - ESPN

HOUSTON — With his team down 3-1 in its first-round playoff matchup against the Warriors, Amen Thompson leaned against the wall and stared out into the gym at Houston's Memorial Hermann training facility, smiling as smooth R&B music hummed in the background.

"[I feel] amazing," he said at the Rockets' morning shootaround Wednesday. «I feel great.»

Thompson had just watched the Detroit Pistons stave off elimination against the New York Knicks a night earlier as his twin brother, Ausar, scored 22 points to go with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks. So Amen Thompson knew his time was coming, too, based off patterns from that Eastern Conference series that appear to mirror what has transpired with the Rockets in the West.

«Every game they've won, we won after,» Thompson said. «So that's what I take from it.»

Thompson then snatched away even more from the Warriors in Game 5 on Wednesday night. He notched five steals in the first half to establish a tone of tenacity on defense that galvanized the Rockets in 131-116 romp that forced Game 6 on Friday in San Francisco.

Thompson finished with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 blocks and 3 assists. He became the first Rockets player in the past 25 postseasons to score 10 points with 5 steals in a half, as Houston surged to a 76-49 lead at intermission. He also became the first player since Charles Barkley in 1993 to tally 25 points, 5 steals and 3 blocks in a playoff game.

Thompson conducted a defensive clinic guarding Stephen Curry, while Dillon Brooks clamped down on Jimmy Butler. Together, Houston's defensive stalwarts limited the Golden State stars to 13 and 8 points, respectively, on 6-of-22 shooting.

«He took it personal, and that's what we need from him every single night,» Brooks