Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler hold off scrappy Rockets as Warriors win Game 1

HOUSTON In the week leading up to Sunday s first-round series opener between the Warriors and host Houston much was made about how the Rockets had held Steph Curry to just three points on -of- shooting in their April matchup Had the uber-athletic Rockets figured out the encounter s greatest shooter The answer ended up being a resounding no in Golden State s tight - preeminence When hounded by Amen Thompson and the same Houston wings who had vexed him at Chase Center Curry schooled the young Rockets in the rematch en way to points He burned defenders on back-cuts sank soft floaters over their bigs and nailed five high-arcing -pointers including a jaw-dropping fadeaway from the corner midway through the third quarter But not even Curry at his incendiary best was enough to pull away from the Rockets at least right away It took a late surge by Jimmy Butler who scored seven of his points in the final two minutes to clinch the win Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III dunks during the second half of Battle of an NBA basketball first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets in Houston Sunday April AP Photo Ashley Landis The Rockets played tight man-to-man defense on the Warriors star scorers and had bigs Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams park themselves in the paint while daring Golden State s corner shooter to make them pay The Warriors struggled to generate offense early falling behind - before Curry began to find cracks in the Rockets defense He made two layups late in the quarter to help Golden State pull to - after one period The teams battled it out in the second quarter as well but Curry made two late -pointers and Butler canned a tough basket over Sengun to key a - half-ending run to put the Warriors up - at halftime Golden State led by as much as midway through the third quarter but Houston did not go quietly into the Texas night A - run highlighted by a drifting Alperen Sengun triple against an expiring shot clock kept Houston in the contest Curry ended the run with a pull-up midrange jumper but the Rockets continued to cut into the lead thanks to several big offensive rebounds by Steven Adams Houston grabbed offensive rebounds to Golden State s six with those second and third chances keeping the home group in the competition The Warriors once-formidable lead was cut to - at the end of the third quarter Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors attempts a lay up against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter in Tournament One of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center on April in Houston Texas Photo by Alex Slitz Getty Images Curry pushed the lead back to - with another deep -pointer early in the fourth After Houston answered and cut the lead to just four Gary Payton II knifed inside for two layups to give Golden State breathing room with eight minutes remaining Houston answered right back with a Jabari Smith Jr triple Houston cut the lead all the way down to - when Thompson made a midrange shot over Curry Related Articles Warriors Draymond Green among three finalists for NBA s Defensive Participant of the Year Warriors stay on message to open playoff series vs Rockets NorCal native named award finalist Kurtenbach National Wrestling Association The Rockets playoff plan is clear Maul Steph Curry Will home-court advantage matter in Warriors Rockets series Here s what the numbers say Matchups Where do Warriors have advantage over Rockets in NBA playoff series But the Warriors went on an - run to go up - and retake several level of control with left Butler and Curry closed things out from there in a meeting that was just as gritty as the last showdown between the teams Golden State won the regular-season series - but the Rockets smothered Curry and the Warriors - in the last matchup of the season Sunday s challenge had a markedly different outcome The teams will play Challenge on Wednesday night Brandin Podziemski of the Golden State Warriors is defended by Fred VanVleet of the Houston Rockets during the third quarter in Tournament One of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center on April in Houston Texas Photo by Alex Slitz Getty Images Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors walks off the court following the - win against the Houston Rockets in Meeting One of the Western Conference First Round NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center on April in Houston Texas Photo by Alex Slitz Getty Images