Stephen Curry dazzled from long range and drove to the hoop from every angle with flair and fire.

It took a tweaked ankle to slow him down and get him out of the game.

Curry scored 24 points before leaving with an ankle injury as the Golden State Warriors beat the visiting Houston Rockets, 104-78, Saturday in their playoff opener in Oakland, Calif.

Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is Monday night at Oracle Arena, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Curry is questionable for that one.

Draymond Green added 12 points and 10 rebounds as top-seeded Golden State carried momentum from setting the all-time wins record Wednesday night with No. 73 into a testy playoff opener some 60 hours later.

The Warriors topped the Michael Jordan-led Bulls of 1995-96, then immediately made one thing clear: That mark will mean nothing if they don’t bring home back-to-back titles to the East Bay.

James Harden scored 17 points and didn’t have a free throw attempt for cold-shooting Houston, held to six field goals in the first quarter of the rematch from last year’s Western Conference finals, which Golden State won in five games.

Dwight Howard had 14 points and 11 rebounds and Harden was limited to four fouls and four points in the first half before helping Houston narrow a 27-point deficit to 16 late in the third.

Curry utterly flustered defensive menace Patrick Beverley. Then, when Jason Terry took a turn at stopping the reigning MVP, Curry pulled up for long 3s and drove the baseline for reverse layups on the left side. He dribbled right through traffic in the paint late in the first half before double-pumping and beautifully spinning the ball off the glass.

He didn’t slow down until hurting his right ankle just before halftime, but he got it re-taped and briefly returned before heading back to the locker room with 8:31 to go in the third to have it taped once more and not returning to the game.

A day earlier, when Klay Thompson was asked whether Beverley had a chance to stop Curry, the fellow Splash Brother’s simple answer was ‘‘no.’’

Curry, who made an NBA-record 402 3-pointers in the regular season, 8 for 13 with five 3s and grabbed seven rebounds while playing all of about 20 minutes. Thompson scored 16, Marreese Speights matched his playoff high with 12 points, while Andre Iguodala dished out seven assists.

Things got heated in a hurry.

With Beverley smothering Curry’s every dribble, they became tangled up with 6:31 left in the first quarter. Curry kept his dribble while going down to his left knee before their arms got entwined and led to shoving. Beverley immediately received a technical then, after a review, Curry also received one.

Perhaps the early start — 12:30 p.m. local time — contributed to both teams’ cold shooting out of the gate.

The teams combined to miss their first seven shots before Curry’s 3-pointer at 9:41. Houston missed its initial six before Howard’s dunk and three-point play at 8:24.

Golden State beat Houston for the 13th time in 14 counting last season’s playoffs, with the lone defeat coming in Game 4 of the West finals at Houston last May 25.

Beverley wasn’t part of that losing round for Houston. He had undergone season-ending left wrist surgery in March 2015 and was relished to spectator.

The Warriors have dominated this rivalry of late, winning nine in a row and five consecutive at home.

Now, Golden State’s lone focus is the 15 remaining victories it needs to repeat after capturing the franchise’s first title in 40 years.

Interim Rockets coach J.B. Bickerstaff insisted before the game that his team had no concerns with the raucous home crowd, the Warriors’ wins record or any other potential distraction. Though the Rockets really didn’t play like they were unaffected.

Houston, which reached the playoffs on the final day of the regular season as the No. 8 seed, shot 35.7 percent and went 6 for 22 from long range.

Pacers 100, Raptors 90 — Healthy and happy about being back in the postseason, Paul George scored 33 points, Monta Ellis had 15, and Indiana defeated host Toronto in Game 1 of their first-round series.

George missed all but six games last season after breaking his right leg while playing in a scrimmage with Team USA before the 2014 World Cup.

Without their star for much of the season, Indiana slumped to a 38-44 finish and missed the playoffs for the first time in five years.

‘‘That hurt more than the actual break, not getting this team to the playoffs last year,’’ George said. ‘‘This means a lot, it means a lot to be back here, it means a lot to be on this stage again.’’

George scored 17 points in the third by connecting on 6 of 7 field goal attempts, including three 3-pointers and a fast-break dunk, as the Pacers took a 70-67 lead into the fourth.

Thunder 108, Mavericks 70 — Russell Westbrook had a game-high 24 points and 11 assists, Kevin Durant added 23 points, and host Oklahoma City demolished Dallas in Game 1 of their opening playoff series.

Dirk Nowitzki was the only Dallas player to score in double figures with 18 points on 7-for-15 shooting as the Mavericks scored their fewest points ever in a playoff game.

The Thunder were never challenged as they stormed to a 59-33 halftime lead.