The reigning champion Warriors picked up where they left off in their record-setting 73-win regular-season campaign, bolting to a 33-15 lead through one quarter and carrying on relentlessly from there.
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Curry sent a tremor of tension through Oracle Arena when he twisted his right ankle defending Rockets star James Harden late in the second quarter.
Curry went to the locker room for treatment and played briefly early in the third period before coach Steve Kerr called a timeout and took him out of the contest.
Curry visited the locker room again, and though he returned to the bench for the fourth quarter he didn’t play again.
Curry inflicted significant damage before his departure. His 24 points included 16 in the first quarter.
The Warriors led 60-33 by halftime, and held Harden to four points before the break.
Draymond Green, who had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Warriors, received the third technical foul of the contest in the fourth quarter for pulling Rockets big man Donata Motiejunas down from behind.
The winner of the best-of-seven series face either the Los Angeles Clippers or Portland Trail Blazers in the second round.
Paul George scored 33 points to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 100-90 victory over the second-seeded Raptors in Toronto on Saturday in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs.
It was a dispiriting start to the post-season for the Raptors, who notched a franchise-record 56 regular season victories to win a third straight Atlantic Division title — achievements that will count for little if they can’t win a seven-game playoff series for the first time in club history.
Their only playoff series win was in a best-of-five first-round set in 2001.
Toronto’s All-Star guards Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan both struggled, Lowry connecting on just three of 13 attempts from the field while DeRozan made five of 19 shots.
