Stephen Curry scored 31 points, and Jimmy Butler added 25 points, as the Golden State Warriors took Game 1 and home-court advantage with a 95-85 win against the Houston Rockets in their first-round Western Conference matchup Sunday night.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night.
Warriors took control in the third quarter and Curry’s rainbow three at the end of the shot clock with 6:52 left in the third gave Golden State its biggest lead at 64-41.
Houston then answered with a 17-3 run, to close the gap to nine to start the fourth quarter.
Alperen Sengun scored 26 and Jabari Smith added 11 points off the bench for Houston, who outrebounded Golden State by 16 and had a 54-34 advantage in the paint, but shot only 39% and 6-for 29 from 3. The Rockets’ starting back court of leading scorer Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet went a combined 7-34 for 17 points
USA TODAY Sports provided updates, scores and highlights from Game 1 of the Warriors-Rockets series:
Warriors vs. Rockets score
Warriors 95, Rockets 85 (Final)
Warriors vs. Rockets highlights
Stephen Curry stats
Minutes: 40
Points: 31
Rebounds: 6
Assists: 3
Steals: 1
Blocks: 0
Free throw percentage: 100% (2-2)
Field goal percentage: 63.1% (12-19)
3-point percentage: 55.5% (5-9)
Warriors vs. Rockets halftime update
The Golden State Warriors used a 14-3 second-quarter run to take a 47-34 halftime lead in a low-scoring Game 1. The Rockets’ poor shooting (38%) and 11 turnovers led to the deficit.
Stephen Curry hit two of his five 3-point attempts and finished the first half with 16 points. Jimmy Butler had 12 for Golden State along with four assists, three rebounds, and three steals.
Alperen Sengun is the only Rockets player in double figures with 16 points. Houston shot 2-12 from 3 and missed all four of its free throw attempts, but did most of their damage inside with 26 points in the paint.
What time is Warriors vs. Rockets Game 1?
The No. 2 seed Houston Rockets and the No. 7 seed Golden State Warriors are scheduled to tip off Game 1 at 9:30 p.m. ET Sunday.
How to watch Warriors vs. Rockets Game 1: TV, stream
Time: 9:30 p.m. ET
Location: Toyota Center in Houston
TV: TNT
Stream: Fubo
Watch Rockets vs. Warriors with Fubo