Kevin Durant Ejected After Picking Up Flagrant-2 Foul in Game 4 vs. Mavericks
Officials handed Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant a flagrant-2 foul and ejected him with less than a minute to go in Game 4 of his team's first-round playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks for striking rookie forward Justin Anderson above the neck Saturday, per NBA on ESPN.
Durant exited the game with 19 points, snapping his streak of 67 straight games of scoring 20 points or more, per TAB.
The Thunder defeated the Mavericks 119-108 in Dallas to take a commanding 3-1 series lead despite Durant shooting 7-of-20 from the floor.
Anderson was attempting a pass to forward David Lee at the rim. As Anderson passed the ball, Durant swung his right hand and hit the head of the 2015 first-round pick, who was on the floor for several seconds afterward.
After referees got together to review the play, they determined the contact was excessive and ejected Durant for the final 50 seconds of the game. Fortunately for the Thunder, his foul didn't sway the outcome, and Oklahoma City can close the series out Monday at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Oklahoma City head coach Billy Donovan said Durant "felt terrible" about how the play unfolded, per Erik Horne of the Oklahoman. "That's not what I wanted to do," Durant said, according to Donovan.
"It was a flagrant, even though I wasn't trying to intentionally foul him," Durant said, per Royce Young of ESPN.com.
Durant texted Anderson later on to apologize, per Bobby Karalla of Mavs.com.
"The refs had to make a decision," Durant said, per Karalla. "They made the right one."
One person who is not afraid to speak his mind on Durant is Mavericks rookie center Salah Mejri. Dallas' rookie big man accused Durant of intentionally elbowing him in Game 3 and had some choice words for Durant, per Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News:
However, all eyes will now be on the NBA front office to determine if it hands down any further punishment to the former MVP. The NBA has a point system in place for flagrant fouls in the postseason. Flagrant-1 fouls are worth one point, and flagrant-2 fouls are worth two. If a player reaches four points, he receives an automatic one-game suspension.
This was Durant's first flagrant foul, so he has only two points and won't receive an automatic suspension, per Tim Bontemps of the New York Post.
That doesn't mean Durant is exempt from a possible suspension for Game 5, though, as the NBA can still enforce suspensions in the postseason, regardless of the point system.
While some may question Donovan's decision to leave his starters in the game with less than one minute to go while up 11 points, it would be a shocker to see Durant suspended for Monday's game. He's not known as a dirty player, and he seemed to be remorseful.
The flagrant call could have a bigger impact down the road for Durant and the Thunder if something similar happens again, though.
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