Stephen Curry tallied 34 points, six rebounds and five assists as the Golden State Warriors defeated the Houston Rockets 110-106 to take the early lead in their NBA playoff series. The Warriors are known more for their offensive prowess but Tuesday they shut down the Rockets with some timely defense to go ahead 1-0 in the best-of-seven showdown between the top two teams in the Western Conference. Shaun Livingston scored 16 of his playoff career-high 18 points in the first half for Golden State, who are in their first conference finals since the mid-1970s.