Stephen Curry said the comments he made Thursday after the Golden State Warriors' 92-88 loss against the Boston Celtics—saying, in part, that it was "very, very likely" the two teams would meet in this season's NBA Finals—were taken out of context, per Jay King of MassLive.com:

"...Obviously it was a question about Boston's chances and how well they've been playing. I literally said they have to beat Cleveland because Cleveland's been there three times in a row. Obviously, I made a joke. I haven't been in Boston in the summer in a while. And it's probably nice weather. But the video's going crazy, so watch the whole video, watch the whole comment, and you'll get it right."

He continued:

"You can literally take one line of what I say and say, 'very, very likely.' But read the whole comment. I hate when that happens. I sat up here and talked for 45 seconds about that question and you want to take five words that put the Boston Celtics in the Finals. That's crazy. It's the hype beast. So I'll be more specific next time in how I see the future [unfolding] around who's going to be in the Finals. Even us. Like, whatever."

Curry's original comments came after he was asked if the Warriors might meet the Celtics in the NBA Finals.

"It's very, very likely, right?" he said, smiling.

"They're playing the best right now in the East," Curry added. "And obviously, until they beat Cleveland, who has done it three years in a row—so we'll see. But I hear the weather is great here in June, so we'll see."

The Celtics have been red-hot to open the 2017-18 season, winning 15 straight after dropping their first two. The three-time defending Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers, meanwhile, have had a slower start, going 5-7 before winning their last four.

The Warriors—the prohibitive favorites to reach a fourth straight Finals out of the Western Conference—have opened their season 12-4.

The Celtics are playing superb defense, holding opponents to an NBA-leading 94.4 points per game, and offseason additions Kyrie Irving and rookie Jayson Tatum have changed the team's identity.

The Celtics have gotten off to their torrid start without star free-agent addition Gordon Hayward, who fractured his ankle in the team's opening-night loss to the Cavaliers.

While Curry's comments may have been taken out of context, it isn't hard to see why folks in Boston and around the NBA have latched onto them.