Austin Rivers says he bothers the Splash Brothers - does he?

The Golden State Warriors beat the Houston Rockets in exhilarating fashion on Wednesday night, and Steph Curry and Klay Thompson combined for 54 points.

But the Splash Brothers needed 43 shots to get those points, and that was about what Rockets guard Austin Rivers was expecting.

Prior to the game, Rivers said that he possesses many of the tools necessary to make life hard on the Warriors All-Star backcourt.

“I’m quick,” Rivers told Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “That’s why I can guard them. And my length, ‘cause I’m 6’4”, I bother them a lot of times. I guard bigger guards well too.”

Rivers also put himself in a top tier when it came to perimeter defense, saying, “Honestly, when it comes to [defending] those quick guards, I wouldn’t put anybody ahead of myself.”

Now, time for a confession: Unlike most Warriors fans, I actually kind of like Rivers. I think he gets unnecessarily criticized as being in the NBA only due to nepotism, and has turned into a quality player. And if you think Curry had it easy growing up with an NBA dad, just listen to Rivers’ account to hear how fortunate Steph is.

He’s also part of the family, as his sister Callie is engaged to Curry’s brother Seth.

So I don’t want to take shots at him, especially when his quote was pretty mild. But still. Receipts exist for a reason.

In 21 matchups against Rivers, Curry is averaging 29.6 points, 6.3 assists, and 2.3 steals per game, while shooting 47.5% from deep. Thompson is averaging 21.5 points, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game, and shooting 46.5% from distance.

Rivers is averaging 10.6 points, 2.5 assists, and 0.9 steals per game, while shooting 28.8% on threes.

The Warriors have won 19 of those 21 games.

So, uhh . . . about that . . .