The Golden State Warriors beat the Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas Day but there were a lot of fans who questioned the methods of Warriors star Kevin Durant down the line at the end of the game. During critical moments in the fourth quarter, Durant fouled LeBron James at least two times but never got called for the fouls. After the Warriors beat the Cavaliers, 99-92, reporters questioned him about getting away with the fouls and Kevin shook off the complaints while insulting anyone who saw the fouls against LeBron.
Kevin Durant calls out fans
After the game, Kevin Durant admitted that he heard Cleveland Cavaliers players trying to convince officials to eject Durant for his technical fouls.
However, Kevin said that the Cavaliers didn't really want him out of the game because they didn't want to win that way. Durant also said it is part of the rules but he didn't really believe they were serious.
Durant then attacked any fans who thought that the referees should have called the fouls that he committed against LeBron James in the fourth quarter. His exact words were "keep that s--t on Twitter." Durant claimed he thought it was "clean" and then said that fans who wanted him ejected probably played games at the "24 Hour Fitness" and would complain if anyone called fouls on them if they did the same thing.
The Kevin Durant fouls
The first of the two Kevin Durant fouls that referees ignored came when he hip-checked LeBron James and sent him to the ground.
This really upset LeBron but Durant wasn't finished yet. James took Kevin off the dribble and Durant fouled him with an initial reach and then fouled him again when LeBron went for the layup. The referees ignored both calls and that led to the Cleveland Cavaliers loss.
Interestingly, Kevin Durant was caught by cameras claiming that LeBron James was "too big" for Durant to get the foul.
After the game, Kevin then accused the Cleveland Cavaliers of trying to get him tossed but he said they failed in that plan and lost the game as a result.
The technicals were very different than the instance with Kevin Durant fouling LeBron James at the end of the game. The technicals came when Jose Calderon fouled Durant. The referee actually called the foul on that occasion but then Durant bumped Calderon with the ball and the referee blew the second whistle.
Despite Durant's dirty play, the referees once again gave him the benefit of the doubt. That would have been a second technical but color commentator Jeff Van Gundy said that officials would refuse to eject Durant. Kevin Durant agreed.
"Hell nah. They're not tossing me in the first quarter," he told ESPN. "They're not tossing me in the first quarter over a little bump."