HOUSTON -- The Houston Rockets took six months to earn homecourt advantage, and the Warriors needed only 48 minutes to take it away.
With Kevin Durant scoring a team-high 37 points, the defending champions strolled out of Toyota Center Monday night with a 119-106 victory to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals.
Klay Thompson put in 28 points, Stephen Curry totaled 18 and Andre Iguodala added 11 as the Warriors overcame a 41-point effort from Houston star James Harden.
As good as Harden was, the rest of the Rockets were contained, limited to 41-percent shooting by a Warriors defense that got stingier as the game went on.