Steph Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green have taken the Warriors to the next level, and even as the seventh seed in the West, they are championship contenders. In Game 1 of the highly anticipated series,

Stephen Curry scored 31 points and the Golden State Warriors built a huge lead and held on to beat the Houston Rockets 95-85 on Sunday night in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.

Jimmy Butler on the lower-ranked team but making clutch, winning plays on both ends. New season. New opponent in the Houston Rockets. Familiar result. In a defensive struggle of a game, the Warriors had more firepower,