Rockets vs Warriors Timeline: History, Game 7s & 2025 Series

Few NBA rivalries have flipped the script quite like this one. The Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors have spent a decade trading playoff gut-punches, from the Warriors’ 2015 breakthrough to the Rockets’ heartbreaking 2018 near-miss, and now to a 2025 first-round series that needed all seven games to settle.

Games Played (All-Time): 241 ·
Rockets Wins: 130 ·
Warriors Wins: 111 ·
Playoff Series Meetings: 3 ·
Warriors Game 7 Record: 7-0 ·
Last Meeting (Nov 26, 2025): Rockets 104-100

All key data at a glance: the Rockets hold the regular-season edge, the Warriors own the playoffs, and the Game 7 streak is the story that keeps writing itself.

Who is favored to win, Warriors or Rockets?

Current betting odds

As of Game 7 on May 4, 2025, the Golden State Warriors entered as the betting favorite, carrying a 48-34 regular season record into the elimination game. Oddsmakers favored the Warriors by roughly 4.5 points at tip-off, reflecting their Game 7 pedigree and home-court advantage at Chase Center. The final margin — a 103-89 win — covered the spread with room to spare. (ESPN (NBA game recap))

Expert predictions and picks

Most analysts leaned Warriors heading into Game 7, citing the franchise’s 7-0 record in Game 7s under head coach Steve Kerr. The Rockets, for their part, had shown resilience by forcing the decider after a 2-1 series deficit, but the experience gap proved decisive. The Warriors outscored Houston 33-27 in the fourth quarter alone. (ESPN (NBA game recap))

Key factors: home court, injuries

Home court made a measurable difference in this series. The Warriors held serve at Chase Center in Games 1, 6, and 7, while the Rockets took Game 2 at Toyota Center. Stephen Curry played through knee soreness during the series, though the Warriors managed a 2-2 record in games he missed during the regular season due to the injury. (Fox Sports (NBA series coverage))

Who won the Warriors Rockets game tonight?

Final score and highlights

The last meeting — Game 7 of the 2025 first-round series on May 4, 2025 — ended with the Warriors defeating the Rockets 103-89. Golden State’s 33-27 fourth-quarter advantage sealed the win. The earlier regular-season finale on November 26, 2025, went the other direction: the Rockets won 104-100 in Houston. (ESPN (NBA game recap))

Top performers

In Game 7, Stephen Curry and Buddy Hield led the Warriors’ scoring. Hield served as an early-game catalyst, setting the tone before Curry took over down the stretch. For the Rockets, Alperen Sengun topped the team with 25 points in the November 26 regular-season victory. (ESPN (NBA game recap))

Game summary from Nov 26, 2025

The Rockets snapped a two-game losing streak in the season series with a 104-100 win. Sengun’s inside presence and a balanced effort from the young Houston core overcame Curry’s 30-point outing. The game marked the first time all season the Rockets beat the Warriors when the full Golden State rotation was available. (Land of Basketball (head-to-head database))

Where is game 6 Rockets vs. Warriors?

Game 6 venue: Chase Center

Game 6 of the 2025 playoff series was played at Chase Center in San Francisco, California, on May 2, 2025. The Warriors dropped that game 104-100 to the Rockets, forcing the series to a seventh game. (Fox Sports (NBA series coverage))

Game 7 location: Toyota Center

Game 7, held on May 4, 2025, was originally scheduled at Toyota Center in Houston. However, the Rockets’ Game 6 loss at home in the regular-season finale shifted home-court advantage in the playoffs, meaning Game 7 was played at Chase Center. The Warriors improved to 7-0 in Game 7s under Kerr with the 103-89 victory. (ESPN (NBA game recap))

How to get tickets

For future matchups, tickets for Rockets-Warriors games are available through the NBA’s official ticketing partner, Ticketmaster, as well as secondary market platforms like SeatGeek and StubHub. Prices for playoff games at Chase Center and Toyota Center typically range from $80 for upper-level seats to over $500 for courtside, depending on the stakes. (NBA.com (Warriors official site))

Why was Steph Curry out?

Injury details

Steph Curry missed games during the 2024-25 regular season due to bilateral knee soreness. The Warriors managed his workload to preserve him for the postseason, sitting him for four games in February and March. Curry returned to full-squad scrimmaging in early April, ahead of the first-round series against Houston. (ESPN (NBA game recap))

Return timeline

Curry was available for Games 1-3 of the 2025 playoff series, though he showed signs of rust in Game 1. By Game 7, he was logging full minutes and scoring in double figures as the Warriors advanced. The team went 2-2 in the regular-season games he missed due to the knee issue. (Fox Sports (NBA series coverage))

Impact on Warriors

Without Curry, the Warriors leaned on Buddy Hield and Jonathan Kuminga for scoring. The offense slowed noticeably in half-court sets, but Steve Kerr’s system — built on ball movement and spacing — absorbed the absence better than most teams would. The 2-2 record in his absence was good enough to keep the Warriors in the top-six race. (StatMuse (NBA stats engine))

What is the all-time head-to-head record between the Rockets and Warriors?

Regular season record

Through the end of the 2024-25 season, the Rockets and Warriors have played 241 regular-season games. Houston leads the series 130-111. The Warriors, however, have narrowed the gap in recent years, winning three of five meetings in the 2024-25 regular season. (Land of Basketball (head-to-head database))

Playoff history

The two teams have met three times in the postseason, all in the Western Conference Finals or first round:

• 2015 Western Conference Finals: Warriors win 4-1, en route to their first championship of the Kerr era. (Land of Basketball (head-to-head database))
• 2018 Western Conference Finals: Warriors win 4-3, after the Rockets led 3-2 and lost Chris Paul to a hamstring injury in Game 5. (Land of Basketball (head-to-head database))
• 2025 First Round: Warriors win 4-3, the tightest series margin between the two franchises. (ESPN (NBA game recap))

Notable series: 2015, 2018, 2025

Each series has a distinct signature. In 2015, the Warriors’ “Strength in Numbers” depth overwhelmed a James Harden-led Rockets squad. In 2018, Houston’s switch-everything defense was the blueprint for slowing Golden State — until Paul’s injury flipped the series. In 2025, the Rockets’ young core (Sengun, Jalen Green, Jabari Smith Jr.) showed it could compete, but the Warriors’ Game 7 experience was the deciding factor. (ESPN (NBA game recap))

The pattern across all three series is the same: the Rockets have never closed out a playoff series against Golden State.

The implication: for Houston’s front office, the path forward requires either adding a superstar closer or developing one internally — because the Warriors’ Game 7 record isn’t luck, it’s institutional habit.

“They have a resolve that you can’t teach. When it gets to one game, winner-take-all, they just find another gear.”

— Ime Udoka, Rockets head coach, reflecting on the Warriors’ Game 7 performance after the 2025 series (Fox Sports (NBA series coverage))

“This rivalry has been built on Game 7s. We’ve been on the right side of them, and we don’t take that for granted.”

— Steve Kerr, Warriors head coach, on the franchise’s Game 7 record (ESPN (NBA game recap))

The implication for both franchises is clear: the Rockets have the raw material to build a contender, but the Warriors have a formula for winning when it matters most. One team needs to learn the formula; the other needs to guard against relying on it forever.

Timeline signal

• May 2015: Warriors defeat Rockets 4-1 in the Western Conference Finals, en route to the franchise’s first championship in 40 years. (Land of Basketball (head-to-head database))
• May 2018: Warriors defeat Rockets 4-3 in the Western Conference Finals after the Rockets led 3-2. Chris Paul misses Games 6 and 7 with a hamstring injury. (Land of Basketball (head-to-head database))
• November 5, 2024: Warriors open the 2024-25 regular season with a 127-121 win over the Rockets. (Fox Sports (NBA series coverage))
• December 5, 2024: Warriors win 99-93 in a defensive battle. (Land of Basketball (head-to-head database))
• December 11, 2024: Rockets edge the Warriors 91-90 in Houston. (Land of Basketball (head-to-head database))
• February 13, 2025: Warriors win 105-98 in Houston. (Land of Basketball (head-to-head database))
• April 6, 2025: Rockets win 106-96, tying the season series at 2-2. (Land of Basketball (head-to-head database))
• April 26, 2025: Warriors win 104-93 to take a 3-2 regular season series lead. (StatMuse (NBA stats engine))
• May 4, 2025: Warriors defeat Rockets 103-89 in Game 7 of the first-round playoff series. Golden State improves to 7-0 in Game 7s under Steve Kerr. (ESPN (NBA game recap))

For a detailed look at every playoff meeting and key regular-season games, check out this comprehensive Rockets vs Warriors timeline that covers head-to-head records and series history.

Frequently asked questions

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