“We know what they’re trying to do—use their size advantage at times to try to bully us.” After losing Game 2 in Houston, Stephen Curry publicly highlighted Ime Udoka’s blueprint to stop him from going off. The plan is simple: Smother Steph with highly physical defense, try to keep the ball away from his hands, and make him work extra hard for each possession. And the Rockets put that strategy on display early during tonight’s Game 3.

With Jimmy Butler sidelined due to the pelvic and deep glute muscle contusion he suffered on Wednesday, the Rockets knew that Steph was the only offensive weapon the Warriors had tonight. So, they put arguably their best and most athletic defender on him, Amen Thompson. And on-air ABC broadcasters noticed Steph’s misery, as they said on Live TV, “Well, nobody’s gonna help off Stephen Curry. I mean Amen Thompson has been face guarding him the whole series. And then top blocking in certain situations just to keep him from getting a run up to the ball.”

Despite the Rockets’ physical defense, Curry somehow managed to find a few openings. He led his team in scoring with 15 points at the half, keeping the Warriors in the game amid Jimmy’s absence. Sure enough, his heroic effort had the announcers demanding one thing: “There’s not a player in the league that logs more miles in a game than Steph Curry does. And he does it at age 37. I mean we throw flowers at LeBron James for his play at 40 which we should, its utterly remarkable. But you can’t forget that Steph Curry is doing all this at age 37.”

Every time LeBron hits the court, the NBA World is left in awe of how he manages to stay so dominant in year 22. But Steph’s longevity often gets overlooked even though he has a similar impact on the court. So, the ABC announcers publicly demanded that Steph gets the same level of respect and appreciation as LeBron for his continuous effort. The Rockets series is only making his case stronger.

Impressive stat highlights Stephen Curry’s effort at 37YO as Ime Udoka’s message to Rockets emerges

Ever since Steph entered his seemingly never ending prime, the Warriors’ offense has run through him. Whether the ball is in his hands or not, the Baby-Faced Assassin can be seen constantly moving, trying to get to his favorable shooting spot. According to last September’s report by HoopsHype, Steph ranks fourth in the league in most miles covered at 2,103.5, since NBA started tracking the stat in 2013-14.

Of course, LeBron is a close 6 with 2,062.7 miles. And number one on that list is DeMar DeRozan with 2,142 miles. Based on the numbers, Curry runs over 2.5 miles per game, which was tenth in the league at the time. That’s a testament to his conditioning and dedication to the game even at this age.

Moreover, knowing how tough defenders make it for him to do anything on offense—makes the stat even more impressive. In Wednesday’s Game 2, a courtside clip of Ime Udoka addressing the Rockets’ players during a timeout hinted at how physically taxing this series has been for Steph.

“Keep playing through the contact. Physicality. Don’t worry, they’re not going to call anything, play through it. Don’t get caught up in that.” Udoka told his squad. Yes, the Rockets have no intention of toning down their physicality and it makes Steph’s work extremely difficult. And as he continues to thrive amid adversity, it makes the NBA World appreciate his effort even more. Do you think Steph’s longevity should be talked about the same way as LeBron’s?