James Harden: 'Houston Rockets gave Golden State Warriors confidence'

James Harden has admitted that the Houston Rockets allowed the Golden State Warriors to build their confidence in the second quarter of the opening game of the Western Conference finals.

The top seeds came from 16 points down midway through the second period to secure a 110-106 win over the Rockets in the first game of the series.

Harden told ESPN: "You can't give a really good shooting team easy layups and confidence. That's what we did in the second quarter."

The Rockets will have the chance to level the series when the teams meet again tomorrow.