Durant downplays poor record vs. LeBron: 'We're playing as a team'

Monday's NBA Finals rematch between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors presented not only an opportunity for fans to see the Association's two best squads square off, but arguably its two best players in LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

The one-on-one matchup has been dominated by The King's side over the years, with James holding a 22-5 all-time record against the four-time scoring champion, including a championship win in 2012 when the Miami Heat bounced Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder in five games.

The Warriors got one over on James' Cavaliers in a big way Monday, dismantling the defending champions in a 35-point mugging. The victory ended Durant's four-game losing streak to his adversary, but he didn't care about that when he was informed of the fact later in the night.

"I didn't know we were playing one on one out there," Durant told The Vertical's Michael Lee. "I mean, it's eight other guys out there, it's not just me and him. ...

"I never really looked at it as, 'I lost to this guy, I beat this guy that many times.' We're playing as a team. There is a lot of stuff that can happen for you to win a game, especially when it's good players. But I didn't know we were playing one on one. I didn't know that was a thing. Do you talk about any matchups against other guys? Does John Wall have more wins against Kyrie Irving? Do y'all talk about that, too? If you want to play one on one, look at the stat line across the line, me and him, individually. But we're not playing one on one out there. If we were, then you can start talking. It's a team game."

Related: LeBron denies Cavs-Warriors rivalry; Durant disagrees

Durant scored 21 points on 9-of-16 shooting, grabbed six boards, dished out five assists, stole the ball twice, and blocked three shots - including one massive rejection on James himself - in 28 minutes at Oracle Arena. James had 20 points and eight boards, but converted only one-third of his 18 field-goal attempts.