Curry, Durant say Warriors' perfect record counts for nothing yet
Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant have made it clear the Golden State Warriors' sensational playoff form will count for nothing if they do not secure victory in the NBA Finals.
The Warriors wrapped up a 4-0 triumph over the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals on Monday, taking their perfect record in the 2017 playoffs to 12-0.
However, while Curry and Durant expressed pride in the team's achievement, they each underlined the importance of maintaining focus ahead of a Finals showdown with either the Cleveland Cavaliers or Boston Celtics.
Curry, who contributed 36 points in San Antonio on Monday, said in a news conference: "[A record of] 12 and 0 is great, [but it] doesn't mean anything going into the next series and we have to understand that.
"Don't get me wrong, we appreciate this opportunity. Playing in this league, you can't take anything for granted. Thirty teams suit up every year trying to get to this point and only two teams do, so you have to appreciate it.
"We might not be jumping up and down, screaming at the top of our lungs and doing all that nonsense, but we understand the privilege that we have, the opportunity that we have to play in the Finals again, to have an opportunity to win a championship, and we appreciate that."
Get ready #DubNation, Game 1 of the #NBAFinals tips off on #WarriorsGround in about 234 hours. pic.twitter.com/i1ExTJc4Ga
— GoldenStateWarriors (@warriors) May 23, 2017
Durant added 29 points and 12 rebounds as the Warriors - champions in 2015 - reached the Finals for a third year in succession.
He echoed Curry's views, adding: "It's good that we're here now, obviously we want to take that to the next series and try to be great. But like Steph said, 12 and 0 really doesn't matter going into the next series - we know it's going to be a battle.
"I'm just proud of the work we put in from the beginning of the season. We just kept grinding. We didn't talk about championships or anything; we just wanted to build good habits and have fun playing some basketball - simple as that.
"We haven't been satisfied when we go up 3-0. We wanted to come out and close it out on the road and the guys have been just focused and energised from the beginning, and we're going to need that from the very start in the next series.
"Definitely looking forward to it - in this league, this stuff is hard to come by so we definitely want to enjoy it. We've got two days off, which is also good as well, but we've got to lock back in and get ready for the next series."