OAKLAND, Calif. — Point guard Stephen Curry scored seven of his game-high 34 points during a critical 11-point flurry late in the fourth quarter Tuesday night, lifting the Golden State Warriors to a 110-106 victory over the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Thursday in Oakland.
The Rockets played the final 15:05 without star center Dwight Howard, who hyper-extended his left knee in the first quarter. He was able to play a total of 27 minutes before leaving the game for good with 3:05 remaining in the third period.
After Rockets shooting guard James Harden forged the second tie of the final period at 97-all with 5:29 to go, Warriors small forward Harrison Barnes got behind the Houston defense for a dunk that gave Golden State the lead for good.
Barnes followed in a Curry miss to push the Golden State lead to 101-97, before Curry buried three consecutive hoops, including his sixth 3-pointer of the night, to extend the advantage to 108-97 with 2:00 to go.
The Rockets, who led by as many as 16 in the first half, weren’t done. A 3-pointer by small forward Trevor Ariza capped a nine-point Houston run that closed the gap to 108-106 with still 14.6 seconds left.
But the Rockets were forced to foul Curry, and his two free throws with 11.8 seconds remaining clinched the win.
Curry hit 13 of his 22 shots and six of his 11 3-point attempts on his 34-point night for Golden State, which swept Houston 4-0 during the regular season.
Reserve guard Shaun Livingston had 18 points, shooting guard Klay Thompson 15 and Barnes 14 to back Curry for Golden State, which is making its first appearance in the Western finals since 1976.
Power forward Draymond Green added 13 points, a team-high 12 rebounds and eight assists.
Harden missed a triple-double by one assist, finishing with 28 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. He connected on 11 of his 20 shots.
Ariza totaled 20 points and power forward Josh Smith 17 for the Rockets, who were playing just two days after finishing off a three-game rally that eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers 4-3 in the Western semifinals.
Howard had seven points and 13 rebounds in his 27 minutes.
The Warriors led 84-79 entering the fourth period and 88-83 with 9:22 remaining before Harden went on a late rampage.
The Most Valuable Player runner-up, who had 18 points on 6-for-14 shooting in the game’s first 38 minutes, heated up with three consecutive jumpers, closing Houston within 90-89 with 8:08 left.
A 3-pointer by power forward Smith finally drew Houston even at 95-all with 6:04 to go, and when Harden dropped in his fifth hoop of the period, the Rockets drew even again at 97-97 with 5:29 left.
But that’s when the Warriors began their game-winning run.
The Warriors used a 25-6 run over the final 6:38 of the first half to erase a 16-point deficit and take a 58-55 lead into the break.
Livingston had 10 of his 18 points in the run, during which the Warriors used a small lineup to their advantage, especially after Howard left the floor with a third foul.
Howard, who left the game briefly in the first quarter after injuring his knee, had seven points and 10 rebounds in the half.
Ariza played a key role in the Rockets’ early success. He had 12 first-half points, including a pair of 3-pointers, hitting five of his seven shots in all.
The Rockets shot 53.5 percent in the half.
NOTES: In their season-series sweep over the Rockets, the Warriors won each game by at least 11 points. … All four of the regular-season matchups occurred within the first 40 games of the season. … Asked before the game if his team carried any advantage into the series because of the sweep, Warriors coach Steve Kerr insisted, “The regular season means nothing. We haven’t seen these guys since January.” … If being the underdog bothered Rockets coach Kevin McHale, he didn’t show it leading into the series opener, noting, “I was 17 or 18 years old and everybody told me I couldn’t play in the Big Ten (Conference). I can’t tell you how much I could care less what anybody else says about anything.” … Warriors PG Stephen Curry set NBA records for most 3-pointers in a four-game (20) and a six-game (26) series in his club’s earlier triumphs over New Orleans and Memphis. … The Rockets have ruled out PG Patrick Beverley (surgery on left wrist) for the series. … Curry scored 34 points the one time in the regular season when Beverley was out of the Houston lineup. He averaged 11 fewer points when matched up three times with the defensive whiz.