The Golden State Warriors managed to survive the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal on Sunday afternoon, winning 104-100 behind 35 points from Kevin Durant.
There was plenty of uncertainty prior to the start of today's game. Both Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson had been labeled as questionable with ankle injuries that they sustained during the team's series-clinching win against the Los Angeles Clippers. Curry was cleared to play hours in advance of the game, but Thompson's status was relatively unclear until after warm-ups.
And indeed, both Curry and Thompson struggled to get things going offensively. Curry scored 18 points, but was just 3 of 10 from the three-point line. For his part, Thompson scored just 13 points after surprisingly playing in 41 of 48 minutes, despite the aforementioned questionable status.
The Warriors also committed 20 turnovers, making this the second consecutive Game 1 in which they committed at least 20 turnovers and still won (Golden State committed 21 turnovers in Game 1 against the Clippers).
Article Continues BelowWhat Thompson failed to provide offensively, however, he made up for in strides on the defensive end. Both Thompson and Andre Iguodala helped to keep James Harden from getting in a rhythm. Harden finished the game with 35 points, but he shot 9 of 28 from the field and 4 of 16 from deep.
And despite committing five turnovers himself, Draymond Green had a near triple-double of 14-9-9 to go along with a plus-minus of +10 for the game.
These same turnover problems plagued Golden State early in the Clippers series, but they survived thanks in part to the heroics of Durant. But it is unlikely that they can sustain this kind of carelessness against a Houston team that defends the perimeter well and can explode for points in bunches at the drop of a hat.