OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Western Conference Finals has been billed as a high-powered shootout between the NBA Most Valuable Player and runner-up.

An explosive Game 1 in the best-of-seven Tuesday night certainly lived up to that billing.

League MVP Stephen Curry saved seven of his 34 points for a critical 11-point burst late in the game, allowing the Golden State Warriors to overcome a fourth-quarter flurry by the Houston Rockets' James Harden in a 110-106 victory.

Game 2 is scheduled for Thursday in Oakland and might be missing Rockets star center Dwight Howard, who sat out the final 15:05 of the opener after hyper-extending his left knee in the first quarter.

"Hopefully he'll be better. We'll probably know (Wednesday)," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said of Howard, who was able to play a total of 26 minutes before leaving the game for good with 3:05 remaining in the third period.

Even without their big man, the Rockets forged a 97-all tie on Harden's fifth hoop of the fourth period with 5:29 to go.

Warriors small forward Harrison Barnes then got behind the Houston defense for a dunk that gave Golden State the lead for good, and followed in a Curry miss for a 101-97 advantage. At that point, the MVP took over.

While the Golden State defense was holding Houston scoreless over a six-possession stretch, Curry buried three consecutive hoops, including his sixth 3-pointer of the night, to extend the advantage to 108-97 with 2:00 to go.

"We feel like Steph at any moment can come down and hit three 3's in a row," Warriors coach Steve Kerr gushed. "This is the kind of season he's had. He's an incredibly skilled player. He's fearless. At any moment, he can let loose."

The Rockets, who led by as many as 16 in the first half, weren't done. A 3-pointer by small forward Trevor Ariza capped a nine-point Houston run that closed the gap to 108-106 with still 14.6 seconds left.

But the Rockets were forced to foul Curry, and his two free throws with 11.8 seconds remaining clinched the win.

"Game 1 slipped away from us," Harden insisted. "We had several opportunities to win the game. Didn't happen. We'll correct some things basically that were on us, and just be better in Game 2."

Curry hit 13 of his 22 shots and six of his 11 3-point attempts on his game-high scoring night for Golden State, which swept Houston 4-0 during the regular season. He also found time for six rebounds, five assists and two steals.

Reserve guard Shaun Livingston had 18 points, shooting guard Klay Thompson 15 and Barnes 14 to back Curry for Golden State, which is making its first appearance in the Western finals since 1976.

Power forward Draymond Green added 13 points and team highs in rebounds (12) and assists (eights).

"I did my part, but other guys stepped up," Curry praised. "That's the beauty of the playoffs. Even night, main guys are going to show up and hopefully play well. But you need pieces around you to do what they do and carry some of that load."

Harden missed a triple-double by one assist, finishing with 28 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists. He connected on 11 of his 20 shots.

The MVP runner-up also recorded game highs in steals (four) and turnovers (five), providing the type of performance many expected in his first head-to-head with Curry since the balloting.

"It's entertaining basketball," Curry said of the head-to-head with Harden. "There's going to be stretches where he plays well, and obviously he did that for his team. He made some crazy shots.

"Hopefully we both have a big impact, and that's what we're supposed to do."

Ariza totaled 20 points and power forward Josh Smith 17 for the Rockets, who were playing just two days after finishing off a three-game rally that eliminated the Los Angeles Clippers 4-3 in the Western semifinals.

Howard had seven points and 13 rebounds in his 26 minutes. However, he missed three of his four free throws, as did teammate Terrence Jones off the bench, as the Rockets converted just 18 of 28 from the line.

"We made some mistakes ... but we were able to battle back," McHale noted. "We gave ourselves a chance. (But) we missed too many shots right around the rim, we didn't rebound the ball well enough, and there were a lot of little things that we can do better."

The Warriors led 84-79 entering the fourth period and 88-83 with 9:22 remaining before Harden went on a late rampage.

The left-hander, who had 18 points on 6-for-14 shooting in the game's first 38 minutes, heated up with three consecutive jumpers, closing Houston within 90-89 with 8:08 left.

A 3-pointer by Smith finally drew Houston even at 95-all with 6:04 to go, and when Harden dropped in his fifth hoop of the period, the Rockets again found themselves in a tie at 97-97 with 5:29 left.

That's when the Warriors began their game-winning run.

NOTES: The Warriors and Rockets are meeting for the first time ever in the NBA playoffs. ... Rockets SG James Harden's 11 rebounds were a postseason career-high. ... Rockets C Dwight Howard's hyper-extended left knee occurred when teammate PF Josh Smith ran into him a little more than six minutes into the game. He returned to play 20 minutes in the second and third quarters. … The four-point difference was by far the smallest of the season in the Warriors-Rockets matchup. Golden State had won each game by at least 11 points in its season-series sweep. ... The two teams hadn't played since January. … The Rockets have ruled out PG Patrick Beverley (surgery on left wrist) for the series. ... Warriors PG Stephen Curry has scored 34 points both times Beverley has been out of the Houston lineup this season. He averaged 11 fewer points when matched up three times with the defensive whiz.