Andrew Bogut was billed as one of the expected X-factors in the Golden State Warriors' battle with the Houston Rockets, but the big Australian was a non-factor in his team's winning start to the NBA Western Conference Finals.
Bogut picked up his third foul early in the second quarter and Warriors coach Steve Kerr sent him to the bench, choosing to take the Rockets on with a small, quick and lethal shooting line-up headed by Stephen Curry.
The Warriors won 110-106.
Instead of the Rockets' centre Dwight Howard dominating in Bogut's absence, the All-Star was felled accidentally when teammate Josh Smith crashed into his left knee.
Howard, who missed 41 regular season games with knee injuries, went to the locker room and when he returned also wasn't a factor.
"We like to have Boges on the floor for defence and they like to have Dwight on the floor for defence and it kind of went back and forth, but in the end neither Dwight or Boges played a lot of minutes," Kerr said.
"So it became a small game and both teams excel with that floor-spacing."
The Warriors, with Curry top-scoring with 34 points, including six three-pointers, guard Shaun Livingston sensational off the bench with 18 points from 6-8 shooting and Draymond Green filling Bogut's big man role with 12 rebounds, eight assists and 13 points, were too strong for Houston.
Bogut had four rebounds and was scoreless on 0-3 shooting in 16 minutes on the court.
Howard finished with 13 rebounds and seven points.
The Rockets made the conference finals after slugging it out with the Los Clippers in a seven-game semi-final series and it appeared they would steal game one on the Warriors' home floor.
They took a 51-37 lead with six minutes left in the second quarter as Rockets guard James Harden, who had 28 points and 11 rebounds, took over.
Harden was runner-up to Curry in the NBA MVP award and the two court leaders put on a show.
It was Curry who led the comeback, pushing the Warriors on a 20-4 run at the end of the half, including hitting a buzzer-beating three to give his team a 58-55 lead.
Rockets coach Kevin McHale was furious his team failed to take advantage of Bogut's absence and attack the rim.
"Bogut barely played so there's no shot blocking," McHale said.
"They have to go in and finish it."
Game two will also be played in Oakland on Thursday, before the best-of-seven finals moves to Houston for two games.
Game one of the Eastern Conference Finals, involving Matthew Dellavedova and his Cleveland Cavaliers against the Atlanta Hawks, begins in Atlanta on Wednesday.
The winners of the Western and Eastern Conferences will play for the NBA Championship.
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