Draymond Green: Championship Priority For Warriors Over Facing Houston Rockets

Draymond Green emphatically shot down the idea the Golden State Warriors were looking to face the Houston Rockets in the NBA playoffs.

The Warriors reached the Western Conference Finals for the fourth straight year after a 113-104 win over the New Orleans Pelicans saw them clinch their semi-final series 4-1.

Stephen Curry scored 28 points and eight assists while Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson added 24 and 23 points respectively. However, Green was the star as he was one assist from a triple-double, finishing the game with 19 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists.

The 28-year-old, in the process, became the first player in Warriors history to average a triple-double in the playoffs as he credited his teammates for helping him achieve the feat.

"I mean I guess it's great to the be the first person in the history of a franchise to do something but nonetheless you don't get triple-doubles by yourself," Green told reporters after the game. "You don't get rebounds by yourself, you need everyone else boxing out on the court. I don't score points by myself, I got great teammates that find me and give me great shots. I don't make the baskets of the passes I deliver to them."

"I don't get fooled into thinking that I averaged a triple-double because of me, I have great teammates, super talented, that makes the game a lot easier and very fun to play. It's great but it's not just about me."

The Warriors will now face the No. 1 seeded Houston Rockets with the latter being touted as the one team who can stop the Bay Area side this season, especially after they finished above them in the regular season.

With a lot of narratives being drawn up ahead of their potential meetings, Green denied the notion the Warriors were craving a chance to face them in the Western Conference Finals as a third NBA championship in four seasons still remains their highest priority.

"We won two championships in three years, we're not about to run off talking about how bad we want to play somebody, we want to win another championship," Green said. "It don't matter who's in the way of that, if you in the way of that, you happen to be in the way."

"But we're not about to run around like 'yeah, we want to play them in the Conference Finals' — for what? It don't matter to us who we play. However, we got them. Aight, now let's get it. We got a goal, whoever is in the way of the goal, we got to see you, you got to see us. Now they in the way. Perfect."

The Western Conference Finals will begin May 14 with Game 1 taking place at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas. The Rockets will have home court advantage for the series should it be taken the distance.