‘Chef Curry and the Butler serve up Houston for dinner’ — GSoM reacts to Game 1 win

A live look at the fan reaction from Game 1.

The Golden State Warriors started the 2025 NBA Playoffs in style on Sunday night, cruising into Texas to beat the Houston Rockets 95-85 in Game 1 of their first round series. It was a gritty and hard-fought win, with the Warriors proving that their defense is no joke.

Let’s take a look at how fans reacted during the game, using comments from the Golden State of Mind game thread.

First quarter: ‘Going to hurt us if we play small’

It was an extremely intense first quarter, and it didn’t start very well. The Dubs couldn’t find any offense whatsoever, but their defense locked in. Steph Curry caught fire late, and they trailed 21-18.

Second quarter:

Things got gorgeous in the second quarter, though. The Warriors offense found a rhythm and they put on a defensive clinic. They used an 18-3 run early in the quarter to score a big lead, and ended the half on a 10-0 run to take a 47-34 lead into the locker room.

Third quarter: ‘Why are they looking to throw away this game?’

The penultimate quarter couldn’t have started better. Curry was absolutely dominating, the lead stretched to 23 points, and it looked like a blowout was on the horizon. And then it all came crashing down. Suddenly the shots stopped falling and Houston found offense for the first time all night, while also dominating the glass. The huge lead was stripped down to single digits, with the Dubs leading 69-60 going into the fourth.

Fourth quarter: ‘15 more to go’

It was a tense fourth quarter, but Golden State’s veteran savvy — and star power — propelled them to victory. It was a single-possession game for stretches in the frame, but Curry and Butler came up big late, driving the Dubs to a 95-85 victory, and a 1-0 lead in the series.