On April 21, the second-placed Golden State Warriors challenged the seventh-seeded Houston Rockets on the road. In the end, the experienced Warriors defeated the Rockets 95-85 and took a 1-0 lead in the series. Stephen Curry scored 31 points in the game, once again showing his superstar qualities, while Rockets center Shin Kyung-sang scored 26 points and 9 rebounds, but still failed to save the team .

In the first quarter, the Rockets, who played at home, were full of momentum at the Toyota Center, playing a high-pressure defensive rhythm, which made the Warriors start a little slow. Although the Warriors quickly adjusted, the Rockets still had a small lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to the inside-out cooperation of Shin Kyung and Amen Thompson, and entered the second quarter with a 3- point advantage.

Entering the second quarter, the Warriors began to find their outside shooting touch. Curry hit many long shots to open the game, and the assists from Bozemski and Moody also made the Warriors' offense more layered. The Rockets suddenly lost fire on the offensive end, scoring only 13 points in the entire second quarter, and their hit rate dropped significantly. At the end of the half, the Warriors overtook the score and established a 13- point lead in one fell swoop.

After the change of sides, the Warriors continued to pursue the victory, and the score difference was once widened to more than 20 points. Although the Rockets requested a timeout and adjusted their defensive strategy, Shin Kyung and Dillon Brooks successively scored, leading the team to a wave of scoring climax to narrow the gap to single digits. However, Curry stepped forward at the critical moment and scored 5 points in a row to stabilize the situation. Moody also hit a drifting mid-range shot, completely extinguishing the Rockets' counterattack momentum.

In the final quarter, the two sides were in a tug-of-war, and the Rockets struggled to catch up but failed to launch a counterattack. The Warriors relied on their rich playoff experience and calm ball control to firmly control the rhythm of the game. In the end, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets 95-85 on the road and took the lead in the series.

Warriors player statistics

Curry 31 points, 6 rebounds , 3 assists, Butler 25 points , 7 rebounds , 6 assists , 5 steals, Bodemsky 14 points, 8 rebounds , 5 assists , 2 steals, Payton Jr. 7 points , 3 rebounds , 1 assist , 2 steals, Moody 7 points, 2 rebounds , 1 assist, Santos 5 points , 1 rebound , Green 4 points , 6 rebounds , 3 assists , 3 steals, Hield 2 points , 1 rebound, Post 1 rebound , 1 assist, Looney 1 rebound

Rockets player statistics

Shin Jing 26 points, 9 rebounds , 1 assist , 3 steals, Smith 11 points , 6 rebounds, Dillon 11 points , 3 rebounds , 2 assists, VanVleet 10 points , 1 rebound , 7 assists, Amen 8 points , 9 rebounds , 6 assists, Jalen Green 7 points , 8 rebounds , 2 assists, Adams 6 points, 12 rebounds , 1 assist, Ethan 6 points , 4 rebounds , 2 steals

With this victory, the Warriors temporarily take the initiative in the series, while the Rockets need to quickly adjust and strive to win back in the next game. For the young Rockets, this is a severe playoff baptism; for the Warriors, experience, execution and the stable performance of core players are still the biggest guarantee for them to move towards higher goals.