The Golden State Warriors wasted no time to get their first postseason win as they topped the LA Clippers 121-104.
Stephen Curry did his best human torch impersonation, as he always does, scoring 38 points on a 8-for-12 clip from 3-point land.
DeMarcus Cousins fouled out of his first ever playoff game while Kevin Durant and Patrick Beverley were both ejected after exchanging words on multiple occasions.
For more on the Warriors' win, we have you covered with takeaways below...
Slow start for Clippers starters
The Clippers trailed by 13 points going into the half and most of their deficit was built within the Warriors' 15-5 run to end the second quarter.
They should consider themselves lucky of two things: one being their super-subs Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell and the other being that the deficit wasn't larger.
The Clippers starters were outscored 53-15 by the Warriors starters. In fact, Stephen Curry's 20 points at the half was more than the Clippers' starters combined, as Danilo Gallinari (8 points) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (7 points) were the only ones to get in the scoring column.
Los Angeles' bench played a major role in getting them to the postseason. Their 53.2 bench points per game were the most in league history since the stat started to be tracked. They got 22 points from Harrell and 15 from Williams in the first half, but they needed more offence to keep pace with this fast-paced Golden State team.
Steph being Steph, breaks playoff 3-point record
It didn't take Curry long to get going in this game.
The prolific sharpshooter caught fire in the second quarter, going 4-for-4 from the field and 2-for-2 from long range to start building the Warriors' lead. It wasn't just his scoring either, the All-Star guard had six boards and six assists to go with a plus-21 plus/minus to solidify the impact he made.
Halftime couldn't cool off Curry as he buried a pair of 3-pointers in the third. His second of the two was in a fashion that you only see from the league's premier 3-point shooter.
"Curry, long distance... BANG!" ☔️☔️
— NBA (@NBA) April 14, 2019
30 PTS, 13 REB, 6 AST for Steph through Q3 on #NBAonABC! #NBAPlayoffs #StrengthInNumbers 98#ClipperNation 79 pic.twitter.com/TX4fYwMzzR
And after sitting to start the fourth quarter, he checked back into the game and immediately knocked down two more 3-pointers to pass Ray Allen for the all-time NBA Playoff record for 3-pointers made with 286. Curry surpassed Allen in 80 (!) less playoff games, a remarkable feat.
Curry finished with 38 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists in the win.
Draymond Green activates playoff mode
Draymond Green is coming off one of his most inconsistent regular seasons to date, but that went straight out the window once Game 1 tipped off.
Enter playoff Draymond.
From the jump, the Clippers dared Green to shoot....and he did just that.
Green paced the Warriors in the first quarter with 13 points on 5-of-5 shooting, 2-of-2 from three, adding three rebounds, while turning up the heat on the defensive end.
13 first quarter points for Draymond Green. Only scored 13+ in 11 games this season.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 14, 2019
Green finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and seven assists on 7-of-12 shooting.
If this is the Draymond the Warriors are getting for the post-season, then things just got a whole lot scarier.
A frustrating playoff debut for DeMarcus Cousins
In his first playoff appearance in his 10-year career, DeMarcus Cousins struggled to get into the flow of the game, with the Clippers employing a similar strategy to guarding Green, but unfortunately for Cousins, he couldn't capitalise.
Cousins recorded nine points, nine rebounds, four assists and six turnovers on 4-of-12 shooting, fouling out of the game midway through the fourth quarter.
Cousins was a -17 in his in 21 minutes of action, the lowest of any Warriors player on the night.
DeMarcus Cousins has now fouled out in two of his three matchups with the Clippers and had at least four fouls in all three games.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) April 14, 2019
The Clippers found plenty of success in the pick-and-roll with Lou Williams and Montrezl Harrell picking apart the Warriors for stretches, with Cousins struggling on the defensive end.
Golden State looked much more fluid with Green or Andrew Bogut at the 5, leaving Steve Kerr with plenty of questions regarding the rotation moving forward.