KD Bombshell! NBA Makes Shocking Kevin Durant’s Announcement on Monday
NBA referees made a lot of mistakes on Sunday. Well, more than they usually do, at least. And more egregious ones, as the league actually rescinded a couple of technical fouls that were called during Sunday’s slate. One of those was a tech called on the Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant.
Durant’s tech came near the end of the first half with the Suns already down double digits to the hapless Toronto Raptors. As the Phoenix forward drove the right lane and launched a runner that clinked off the rim, he was fouled by Toronto’s R.J. Barrett.
The whistle for the foul came a little bit later than usual, so when Durant hit the deck, he slammed his hand into the hardwood in frustration, which is likely what drew the ire of the officials. Immanuel Quickley made the technical free throw for the Raps before Durant came back and made both of his shots from the charity stripe.
It was Durant’s third technical foul of the year, and the 120th of his career overall. He had six techs last year with the Suns. He also received a tech for an altercation with Chris Paul in the previous game.
After the Toronto loss, Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer said that Durant was “blatantly fouled” on the play and that it wasn’t a “very difficult call”.
Deserved technical or not, Phoenix was never able to get off the ground in that game on Sunday. They trailed for nearly the entire night, and though they cut Toronto’s lead to two at one point in the fourth quarter, a 39-point barrage from the 18-39 Raps shut the door on any thoughts of a comeback.
The 127-109 defeat was their 8th loss in their last 10 games. They have now slipped 1.5 games behind the Sacramento Kings for that 10th seed, which is also the final spot in the Western Conference Play-In.
Durant was frustrated by Toronto’s defense all game, which puts his reaction into context. He managed just 15 points, his lowest since December 3, and he shot just 33 percent on 15 shots, which is his worst shooting performance of the year.
On Monday, the league also announced that Chet Holmgren of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Klay Thompson of the Dallas Mavericks would have technical fouls rescinded for games played on February 7 and February 23, respectively.
Durant and the Suns will be hard-pressed to bounce back in their next game on Tuesday. They head to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies, the No. 2 seed in the West.
