With vintage performances from Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, Golden State stifles Houston’s comeback effort to seize Game 1.
HOUSTON — Going simply by the scoreboard, the opening weekend of the 2025 NBA playoffs finally ran out of gas. Eight games over two days had provided all sorts of offensive highlights and lots of big team totals.
There were the 131 points Oklahoma City hung on Memphis, while New York revved up to score 123 against Detroit. Cleveland posted 121, while Indiana and Minnesota each scored 117. Even the Pistons, the Clippers, and the Heat got to triple digits in defeat.
Then came Golden State at Houston, the last of the openers and, by all appearances, running on fumes. The No. 2 and No. 7 teams in the Western Conference scored a combined 180 points, with the Rockets not even reaching in points the miles per hour (88) of Doc Brown’s DeLorean, the necessary speed for such a throwback game.
“It felt like 1997 out there to me, a completely different NBA game than what we’re used to,” said Warriors coach Steve Kerr. “They’re not a typical modern NBA team. … They’re kind of old-school and in many ways in the image of their coach. Ime [Udoka] was a grinder, tough physical — that’s how Houston is.”
And that likely is how this series will go.
Here are five takeaways from the Warriors’ 95-85 victory Sunday night at Toyota Center, staking them to a 1-0 start in the best-of-seven series:
1. Warriors’ grit and grind gets it done
As long as Stephen Curry is darting, cutting and hoisting in this team’s attack, it always will be known for deep 3-pointers and potent offense. But the little secret in Golden State’s impressive finish (23-8) to the regular season was how the acquisition of Jimmy Butler elevated the defense.
Most of the attention has gone to how Butler’s methodical style has given the Warriors a counterpoint to Curry, a second way to get into their offense and a better shot at earning free throws. But he also added some defensive tenacity, which goes beyond whatever individual skills Butler has at that end. His presence enables the Warriors to fiddle with their defensive matchups and schemes.
“He’s so versatile,” Draymond Green said. “You can throw him on bigs at times, you can throw him on point guards. You can kind of move him all over.”
2. The Rockets’ Sengun-or-bust offense
Alperen Sengun, Houston’s remarkably skilled Turkish center, didn’t seem fazed in his postseason debut. Can’t say the same about some of his young teammates, such as Jalen Green, Amen Thompson and Tari Eason. Having one guy out of the eight who played reach or top his season scoring average isn’t going to get the job done.
It’s fine for the Rockets to use Sengun as a version of Nikola Jokić: a point center and hub of their attack. He was their best option all night, hitting mid-range jump shots and a few floor-bound hooks/flips into the basket.
Several times, he appeared to force passes, as if self-conscious about helping himself to the biggest share of offense. But who could blame him? Through three quarters, with Houston down 69-60, Sengun had 10 field goals to the other starters’ nine. He wound up shooting 11-of-18, while the other Rockets combined to go 23-of-69.
3. A lot of really offensive rebounds
While the low score on Sunday was a bit surprising, the style of play was anticipated. Both sides termed it as “possession basketball” in the days leading into the series. Kerr noticed right off that the Rockets launched 87 shots to his team’s 76, a disparity no coach welcomes.
The reason? Houston’s 22 offensive rebounds, built off six from Thompson and five from Steven Adams (12 overall in 19 minutes off the bench). The Rockets are bigger than the Warriors and have come to rely on getting the ball back off the glass — they led the NBA with 1,200 offensive rebounds, 105 more than runner-up Portland.
In this game, 22 reclaimed shots turned into 22 second-chance points and nearly a fourth of Houston’s buckets. The Warriors don’t expect to win this category, but they do want to hold themselves to a higher standard in the basics – blocking out, grabbing the rebound with two hands and so on.
“If it’s a half-court game, I really think our defense can get the job done,” Kerr said.
4. Butler as a calming influence
Give the Rockets credit. They had fallen behind by 23 midway through the third quarter, with the possibility of flattening completely a la Memphis vs. OKC in the first of Sunday’s four games. Instead, the playoff newbies tightened their defense and rode second- and third-chance offense back to within 72-68 with 8:49 to play.
That’s when Butler, who had re-entered moments before, went full-closer for Golden State. He scored six points, grabbed two rebounds and got two steals. The Warriors had 14 of those, key to the 25 points they scored off 17 Rockets turnovers.
Mostly, Butler — in his first “Playoff Jimmy” game for his fifth employer — made good decisions at the best times.
Jimmy Butler amasses 25 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 assists in Golden State’s Game 1 victory over Houston.
5. No tiring out Curry
When the Rockets weren’t sending Thompson and other bigger defenders at the Hall of Famer-to-be, they had their backcourt guys working to test Curry defensively. It’s as old as Curry’s draft memories, a tactic to drain some of his energy where he can do opponents the least amount of harm.
Even when the opposing backcourt doesn’t shoot 7-of-34 (2-of-17 on 3-pointers) the way Fred VanVleet and Jalen Green did, it rarely delivers results that swing the outcomes.
Said Kerr: “Steph’s been dealing with this his entire career. People try to pick on him. He’s a really good defender.”
Curry scored 31 points, hitting five of his nine 3-point attempts from far and farther, highlights for others, ho-hum from him.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.
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