James Harden made sure that the Rockets will have one more game to play this season as he fired a career playoff-high 45 points, grabbed 9 rebounds, and dished off five assists to lead Houston to a high-scoring 128-115 win over the Golden State Warriors at the Toyota Center on Monday.

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Harden scored 10 points in the first quarter, as Houston completed a huge 45-point first quarter attack to lead the game from start to finish and ensure at least another game at their home floor on Wednesday. Josh Smith made three shots from beyond the arc as he contributed 13 of his 20 points in that decisive opening period.

Meanwhile, the Warriors were given a scare during the 5:52 mark of the second quarter when reigning league MVP Stephen Curry had a worrying fall and landed neck and shoulder first, then bounced his head on the floor.

Golden State immediately released an announcement that their All-Star point guard suffered a head contusion. But after a series of quick tests, it was verified that Curry did not have any concussions so he was cleared to return, as reported in ESPN.

Curry was out for around 12 minutes of playing time for treatment before going back in the third quarter to try and lift the Warriors back into the game. He scored his first field goal after the fall with 8:24 left in the fourth quarter on a three-pointer to bring Golden State within 6, 98-104.

However, Harden will not be denied this time as he scored seven straight points to spearhead a 10-0 run that pushed the lead back up to 16, 114-98.

From then on, the Rockets have had control as Harden poured in 17 markers in the final period to win their first game in the series.

While Harden led Houston in scoring, he also got plenty of support from the offensive end as five other Rockets scored in double figures, namely Smith (20), Trevor Ariza (17), Dwight Howard (14), Terrence Jones (14), and Jason Terry (10). The team shot 17-of-32 from three-point distance for a scintillating 53% rate.

Golden State was led by Klay Thompson with 24 points, but he only managed to shoot 9-of-21 from the field.

TagsNBA 2015, NBA Playoffs, NBA Playoffs 2015, NBA news, Golden State Warriors, James Harden, Stephen Curry