Golden State Warriors All-Star Kevin Durant was irked with the officials after he was ejected late in Friday night’s 133-112 rout of the Magic.
“The refs run the game, so if they’re not feeling good today, they can just make any decision they want,” Durant said. “I have to know that they got all of the power, and I got to shut up and take it.”
Durant was ejected with 4:52 remaining in the contest.
His frustration stemmed from not being awarded a trip to the foul line midway through the final quarter.
“Oh yeah, it should have been two shots, but he didn’t give me an explanation on that,” Durant said of official Eric Lewis. “I guess because I kept asking him about it, he tossed me.”
The forward made contact with Magic point guard Elfrid Payton in what appeared to be the act of shooting. However, Lewis ruled that it was a nonshooting foul.
Warriors Coach Steve Kerr was irate and confused as he pleaded his case from the sideline.
“He got fouled on a shot, and for some reason, they didn’t give him two free throws, which was kind of bizarre,” Kerr said. “It was one of the most bizarre noncalls I’ve ever seen. It looked so obvious, and he should have been at the line. I’m sure he was upset. I was upset about that, too.”
On the Warriors’ next offensive possession, a frustrated Durant drove to the basket, absorbing some contact from Magic forward Aaron Gordon, and nailed a tough off-balance jumper in the paint.
He immediately turned to Lewis, uttered something and was promptly sent to the showers.
“I guess I tried to show him up, and he didn’t like it, so he threw me out,” Durant said.
Durant is the third superstar this week to have been tossed from a game. Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James was sent to the locker room early in his game Tuesday, and New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis was tossed Wednesday. Davis was fined $25,000 for verbally abusing an official and failing to leave the court in a timely manner.
Another knockout
Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Greg Hardy continues his transition from the gridiron to the cage with his second victory in the amateur ranks.
Hardy made his presence felt in his amateur MMA debut Nov. 4 in a quick 32-second knockout performance.
His second bout went 96 seconds.
On Friday, Hardy stepped inside the American Kombat Alliance cage at Rite of Passage 2 in the Horseshoe Casino Riverdome in Bossier City, La., to fight Kenneth Woods, who was making his debut.
Hardy started slow and made Woods circle on the outside. The obvious speed and athleticism advantage for Hardy were keeping Woods from engaging. Finally, Hardy came forward.
Woods tried running away from his problems, but Hardy was always there. Eventually, Woods hit the canvas and Hardy laid in a couple of heavy punches as the referee saved Woods from any further beating. The official result was by head kick and punches.
It wasn’t a stellar performance, as Woods didn’t allow Hardy to showcase his improvements. Hardy simply had to hunt down his prey and end the fight against an overmatched opponent.
Quote of the day
“I was kind of hoping we had those good wins. Three against the top 16 teams in America. But I
get it.”
Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer on the Buckeyes being left out of the College Football Playoff