Fiery Kevin Durant Throws Ball at Kenneth Faried for Flopping

Kevin Durant was feeling some type of way Monday night.

In addition to catching fire and burning through the Denver Nuggets like human thermite, Durant made it known that he’s finished being punked. 

The Oklahoma City Thunder forward drove the point home by Ginsu-ing the Nuggets for 40 points on 19 field-goal attempts and literally telling the world he’s a bad, bad dude.

Weirdly enough, the garnish atop Durant’s rage-splosion was a physical exchange with Kenneth Faried, who did everything short of hog-tying the incendiary shooter in the name of stopping him from razing Denver’s village any further.

The incident occurred when Faried bear-hugged the OKC forward at the three-point line. Durant responded by shoving Faried, who in turn body-rolled his way to the ground. Frustrated, Durant tossed the ball at Faried and walked away, leaving referees to assess a flagrant 1 and a technical foul.

Thunder beat writer Anthony Slater uploaded a Vine of the run-in. Durant was not in the mood for theatrics.

Now, let’s get some things straight before going forward.

Did Durant push Faried? Yes. Did Faried relish the reprieve and ride his “Get Out of Jail Free” card straight to the lacquer? Absolutely.

Faried’s nickname is Manimal—a moniker you don’t earn by getting rag-dolled by Kevin Durant, whose bench press maxes out at two Bundt cakes and a sleeping corgi. Faried took a dive. It happens.

As for Durant, his ruthless performance on Monday comes on the heels of a week spent trading barbs with snappish media types and issuing Tony Montana-esque challenges to the league at large. He’s tired of the disrespect, whether real or perceived, and if the Thunder don’t make it into the postseason, he’ll be damned if he’s to blame.

So, say goodnight to the bad guy. It's the last time you’ll see a bad guy like this again—until Wednesday night, at least.

Dan is on Twitter. He is (allegedly) not a bad guy.