Stephen Curry scores 31 points in the Warriors' 95-85 victory over the Rockets 95-85 in Game 1
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Curry scored 31 points and the Warriors built a huge lead and held on to beat the Rockets 95-85
HOUSTON (AP) — Draymond Green easily boiled down the key to Golden State’s victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series Sunday night.
“In order for us to win basketball games it requires Steph Curry to be great,” Green said. “And he was just that.”
Curry scored 31 points and the Warriors built a huge lead and held on to beat the Rockets 95-85.
Curry was 12 of 19 from the field, hitting 5 of 9 3-pointers. He wowed his teammates with a couple of circus shots that caused the bench to go wild.
Jimmy Butler added 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in his playoff debut for the Warriors after joining them in a trade from Miami in February.
“(Curry) just made some amazing plays and obviously carried us offensively along with Jimmy,” coach Steve Kerr said.
The seventh-seeded Warriors led by 23 in the third quarter, but second-seeded Houston cut it to 69-60 entering the fourth.
A basket by Amen Thompson with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining got the Rockets within four. Curry hit his fifth 3-pointer of the night a few seconds later to make it 82-75.
The Rockets cut it to four again with about 2 1/2 minutes left on a 3 by Fred VanVleet. This time Moses Moody hit a 3-pointer to start a 7-0 run that made it 91-80 and sent fans streaming for the exits.
