The Golden State Warriors held off the Houston Rockets, 110-106, in Game 1 of their best-of-seven Western Conference Finals series at the Oracle Arena in Oakland.

Steph Curry, the NBA's reigning Most Valuable Player, canned in two clutch free throws in the final 11.8 seconds to seal the deal for Golden State after rallying from a 16-point hole in the second quarter. The MVP finished with 34 points, six rebounds, and five assists in 39 minutes of action.

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MVP runner-up James Harden went scoreless in the final five minutes and made two crucial turnovers with only 2:54 left in the game, making Houston fall short of its late comeback.

The Warriors led by eleven points in the last two minutes, 108-97, but a 9-0 run courtesy of a layup and two free throws from Josh Smith, two free throws by Corey Brewer, and a three-point shot by Trevor Ariza pulled them within two, 106-108, time down to 16 seconds.

Then a sequence of fouls occurred and Curry put the icing on the cake with two free throws to go up in the series, 1-0. Harden and Jason Terry missed their jump shots as the buzzer sounded.

The Rockets appeared to be coasting to a rout, and the home court advantage, in the first half as they led by as much as 16 points, 49-33, with seven minutes remaining after a bucket by Brewer off an assist from Harden.

But the Warriors will not be denied as backup point guard Shaun Livingston led a furious 16-2 run, pouring in 10 of his 18 points for the night in the next four minutes, to trim the gap to two, 49-51. Golden State closed the half with another rally to move ahead, 58-55.

TagsNBA 2015, NBA Playoffs 2015, Golden State Warriors, Steph Curry