So he’s not so nice after all?
Down 104-90 with 1:57 left in the fourth quarter at home against the Brooklyn Nets, a frustrated Kevin Durant picked up a technical foul for swinging his arm after an illegal screen was called on Kendrick Perkins. He then had some choice words for the referee, as you can see below (via Mike Prada of SBNation):
Durant’s continual hand gestures and jawing earned him a second technical, leading to an automatic ejection.
What’s even more surprising than his reaction is that this marked the first ejection of his career in 454 career games, a span of five seasons and change. No wonder Chris Palmer was so surprised.
The forward made sure he didn’t let the rare occurrence go to waste by blowing off some extra steam: after being whistled for his second consecutive technical, he called the referee a duck, or something along those lines.
Here’s what he had to say after the game:
“I just thought it was a bad call. Like I said, you get frustrated throughout a game and show emotion. That’s how you can tell you love it. I think I’m allowed to be frustrated. Especially in this league with the ups and downs. Players are allowed to be frustrated. It is what it is. You move on from it.”
Is “it is what it is” the new “both teams played hard”?