Golden State Warriors upset third seeded Houston to steal dwelling court docket benefit from Rockets in opening recreation of their Western Convention playoff collection.
Stephen Curry scored a game-high 31 factors and Jimmy Butler III added 25 because the Golden State Warriors held off the Houston Rockets 95-85 in Recreation 1 of their Western Convention first-round collection.
Curry, who shot 1-for-10 and scored three factors in a house loss to the Rockets on April 6, was sensible on Sunday. He completed 12-for-19 general, drilled 5 three-pointers and grabbed six rebounds. Butler added seven rebounds and 6 assists to his ledger because the visiting Warriors grabbed a 1-0 collection lead with Recreation 2 set for Wednesday in Houston.
Houston decreased a 23-point deficit to 76-73 on an Amen Thompson floater with 6 minutes and 49 seconds left to play. However Curry prolonged that benefit again to 82-75 with a three-pointer with 5 minutes and 11 seconds remaining. Butler and Brandin Podziemski (14 factors, eight rebounds, 5 assists) stored the Rockets at bay within the closing levels.
The Rockets shot simply 39.1 p.c and dedicated 17 turnovers that the Warriors transformed into 25 factors. Alperen Sengun posted 26 factors and 9 rebounds, however Jabari Smith Jr was the primary teammate to affix him in double figures with 11 factors, doing so by way of a nook three-pointer with 7:34 minutes left.
Jalen Inexperienced and Fred VanVleet shot a mixed 7-for-34 and totalled 17 factors for Houston.
The Rockets have been energised early behind Sengun, who had eight factors and 6 rebounds within the first quarter. Houston led 19-12 when Tari Eason transformed a steal right into a fast-break dunk with 3:20 minutes left, however Curry engineered a quick run to shut that hole.
Curry adopted his help to Butler with a pair of drives that pulled the Warriors to inside 21-18 getting into the second quarter. Butler then equipped the Warriors with their first lead at 24-23 with a free throw on the 9:16 mark of the second quarter, and Golden State later seized its first double-digit benefit with an 11-0 run capped by a Curry reverse layup with 6:08 minutes remaining within the first half.
The Rockets briefly stemmed the tide and pulled to inside 4 factors, just for the Warriors to shut the half with a 9-0 burst that featured two Curry three-pointers and three factors from Butler. In the meantime, the Rockets missed their remaining 5 photographs and dedicated two turnovers throughout that stretch, getting into the intermission trailing 47-34 after taking pictures 6-of-18 within the second interval.
In earlier first-round matches performed on Sunday, the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder destroyed the Memphis Grizzlies 131-80 in probably the most lopsided Recreation 1 win in NBA playoff historical past.
Within the Jap Convention, NBA reigning champions Boston, fuelled by 30 factors from Derrick White, defeated Orlando Magic 103-86, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who beat out the Celtics for prime seed within the Jap Convention, downed Miami Warmth 121-100.
