Curry scores 53 points in Warriors' victory

The Houston Rockets will look to bounce back from a miserable opening-night loss when they host the Golden State Warriors at the Toyota Center on Friday night. Stephen Curry scored 53 points in the Warriors' 134-120 victory.

"I've always had confidence".

Stephen Curry (center) of the Golden State Warriors tries to shoot over Dwight Howard of the Houston Rockets. The Rockets had a great season past year and Harden came in second in the MVP voting behind Curry and these teams could have a rivalry getting going as the season picks up. Last season, Cunningham caught Harrison Barnes of the Warriors with an elbow to the face, causing a nasal fracture, chipped teeth and a cut in Barnes' mouth.

Curry was only one point away from matching his career high in a game, but he'll settle for setting another personal park.

"Our team, we're playing well", Curry, who is averaging 39.3 points through three games. "There's no championship hangover and I want to be a part of it". Harden struggled all night, scoring 16 points on just 4-of-18 shooting, including an icy 1-of-10 from 3-point range.

By now, Curry's teammates know to feed him the ball when he climbs into The Zone.

"I just think we have to do a better job all together", Gentry said. "We weren't supposed to do that".

Fortunately for New Orleans, Omer Asik returned but he was largely ineffective in his 10 minutes.

A second straight poor performance on their home court has the Rockets off to their worst start in five years. Curry will be playing with a chip on his shoulder and I will go out on a limb and say he drops at least 30 points tonight. Everything clicked in that quarter.

The Rockets will look to improve on their first game and get a big win against a rival in return.

It's still early, of course, but at worst Curry appears to be picking up where he left off. At best, he has taken his game to an even higher level.

Green scored 21 points and Klay Thompson added 19 for defending champion Golden State, which has won its first three games this season.

George Hill scored 17 points and Paul George added 16 for Indiana (0-3), which has lost the lead in the third quarter and given up a total of 189 points in the second half of its three games this season. I thought we were very stagnant offensively, " Coach Alvin Gentry said.

The Warriors finished the third quarter with a thunderous block from Festus Ezeli, denying Corey Brewer a layup with less than 5 seconds remaining. Rajon Rondo scored 21 points for Sacramento.

New York 117, at Washington 110: Carmelo Anthony scored 37 points and the Knicks spoiled the Wizards' home opener. George Hill scored 17 points for the winless Pacers. The Warriors came into this season as one of the healthiest teams in the National Basketball Association with nearly no injuries to speak of to key players but that changed in the opener.