Watch: Warriors hold off Rockets for 2-0 series lead, Bucks power past Celtics
Kevin Durant scored 29 points and Klay Thompson added 21 on Tuesday as the Golden State Warriors downed the Houston Rockets 115-109 in a bruising NBA playoff clash.
The reigning champion Warriors never trailed, but they had to battle to the end to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference second-round series, which shifts to Houston for game three on Saturday.
Both teams had injury scares in the first quarter, when Houston's 2018 NBA Most Valuable Player James Harden departed with a left eye injury after he was inadvertently swiped in the face by Draymond Green as they battled for the ball.
Warriors guard Stephen Curry left briefly with a dislocated middle finger on his left hand, returning with it taped up before the quarter ended.
Harden returned in the second quarter, but appeared to feel discomfort from the injury during the game, sometimes squinting in the bright lights.
"He got raked pretty good in the eyes," Houston coach Mike D'Antoni said of Harden, who finished with 29 points -- including 13 in the fourth quarter. "I'm sure he would have loved to have played better, but under the circumstances I thought he played great."
D'Antoni said he knew Harden...