Steph Curry and James Harden brought their A-games to the Western Conference finals opener on Tuesday, in which Curry's Golden State Warriors were too good for Harden's Houston Rockets 110-106.

Regular season MVP Curry scored 34 points, including the game-clinching free throws with under 12 seconds to go as the Warriors sealed game one at their Oracle Arena home.

Curry finished in a flurry with 11 points inside the final six minutes to power an 11-0 run by the Warriors, as they split a 97-97 tie in emphatic fashion.

Harden netted 28 points, collected 11 rebounds and assisted nine times in a spirited performance for the losers, with the Rockets left to rue coughing up a 16-point first-half lead.

"They are both great players carrying their ball teams," Warriors forward Draymond Green told ESPN post-match.

Green, himself, was quite impressive - falling shy of a triple-double with 13 points, 12 rebounds and eight assists.

Perhaps the biggest loss for Houston was that of centre Dwight Howard, who suffered a left-knee bruise when teammate Josh Smith ran into him. He scored just seven points in 26 minutes on court. 

Warriors bench player Shaun Livingston was huge in the first half, scoring 16 of his 18 points before the main break as Golden State turned a 49-33 second-quarter deficit into 58-55 half-time lead.