Steve Kerr Defends Kevin Durant After Star's League-Leading 5th Ejection

Although Kevin Durant was ejected Thursday for the fifth time this season, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr isn't concerned about Durant's or the team's on-court behavior.

Mark Medina of the Mercury News captured his thoughts after the 116-107 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks:

"I think Kevin just had a moment," Kerr explained. "He was frustrated, he went to the rim three times and should have had three different fouls I thought. And I think he was frustrated anyway because the game wasn't going well for him. So he snapped, but it happens, and I didn't feel like it was a teamwide thing."

Durant was competing in his first game in more than two weeks after dealing with a rib injury, but his return only lasted 17 minutes of playing time. He recorded 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting, adding four turnovers and finishing minus-15 on the court.

His ejection came just before halftime after a questionable no-call. He complained to the official, who called him for two technical fouls, which warrants and automatic ejection.

The fifth ejection of the year puts him in strange company, per ESPN Stats and Info:

What makes this statistic even more surprising is the fact Durant only had two total ejections in his first 10 years in the NBA.

He also now has 14 technical fouls on the year, two short of his career high of 16 in 2013-14 with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

With the Warriors now set in the No. 2 seed after Thursday's loss, the technical fouls don't matter much for the rest of the season. However, he will need to keep his emotions in check during the playoffs because the team can't afford to lose arguably its best player for extended periods of time.