Golden State Warriors have taken a massive step towards winning the Western Conference finals after securing a 2-0 lead in the series against Houston Rockets.

On Thursday night the Warriors edged past the Rockets 99-98 following a running battle between NBA MVP Stephen Curry and runner-up James Harden.

Harden had inspired his team’s fightback from 17 points down in the second quarter but the game ultimately ended in defeat for the Rockets when he lost the ball as time expired after good containing work by Curry and Klay Thompson.

“You knew he probably wasn’t going to pass,” Curry said. “At that point, it’s just don’t let him get a shot off and try to be the hero.”

The Warriors have now won the first two games of the best-of-seven series, with the action set to move to Houston on Saturday for Game 3.

“We’re not going to go anywhere,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said after Game 2. “We’re just going to keep standing here and swinging.”

Harden admitted the defeat had left him feeling “frustrated” but he must now get himself back up for the next instalment against the Warriors.

“It’s great competition,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “It’s two teams that really want to get to the finals.”

The Rockets are 1.91 to win on home soil this weekend with the Warriors 1.83 to secure victory in Texas.