Warriors forward Kevin Durant earned his fourth ejection of the 2017-18 NBA season during Tuesday night’s 123-112 win over the Knicks, as he was hit with two technical fouls during the course of the game.
Durant was assessed a technical in the third quarter after slamming the ball off the court in frustration, which seemed like the right call. He wasn’t done, though. Durant was seen arguing with referee James Williams over a no-call after he appeared to be fouled on a layup attempt late in the fourth quarter, which resulted in him receiving his second technical foul, and being ejected from the game.
The Warriors were enjoying a double-digit lead at the time of Durant’s ejection, so it didn’t impact the outcome of the game. Durant, however, was not happy with Williams, and he accused the official of targeting him in speaking to reporters after the game.
“So second half, his whole thing was like he’s trying to get me,” Durant said, via Melissa Rohlin of The Mercury News. “Look at my first tech. I got the rebound and I dribbled the ball hard and he teched me up. He was searching for me. He was looking to try to tech me up to get me back because he was still in his feelings from the first half. That’s what’s been going on around the league the whole year is a bunch of that. You know what I’m saying? I’ve got to keep my head a little bit. But I was upset. I’m a human being too. I get upset.”
And while Durant clearly wasn’t happy as he gave his take on Williams, a funny moment took place during the media session when a reporter asked him about teammate Draymond Green attempting to calm him down before he was ejected.
“Yeah, the irony,” Durant said. “I was not trying to hear that.”
Kevin Durant on his ejection and officiating pic.twitter.com/uicljZ8luP
— Mark Medina (@MarkG_Medina) January 24, 2018
Durant also admitted that Williams could have a grudge against him going forward, but didn’t seem to be fazed by it.
It’s interesting that Durant continues to argue with and be critical of officials as much as he has this season. As Russell Westbrook has found out, referees can hold grudges, and if he continues to rip their performance, he’s not going to see many calls go his way in the future.
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