Kevin Durant and DeMarcus Cousins were ejected for jawing at one another late in Monday night’s game between the Thunder and Pelicans, and the confrontation apparently did not stop after the two players left the court.
With just over a minute remaining in Golden State’s eventual 125-115 win, Durant and Cousins bumped into each other a bit before Draymond Green and a couple other players came over to separate the two. Since both Durant and Cousins had already received technical fouls earlier in the game, they were ejected.
Kevin Durant and Boogie Cousins get ejected after heated confrontation pic.twitter.com/MI1QhOVTWV
— gifdsports (@gifdsports) December 5, 2017
Durant said after the game that he needs to do a better job of keeping his cool, as he has now been ejected three times in his past 18 games. He also admitted that he didn’t have any intention of getting into a real fight with Cousins.
“I don’t want to get injured,” he said, per Nick Friedell of ESPN.com. “I don’t want to get suspended. I love to play, I love making money for my family. So I’m not trying to get suspended, I’m not trying to get in no fights with nobody. Nobody on the floor is going to fight. Nobody in the NBA is going to throw no punches. We’re just talking, we’re just getting into it. It’s a heated matchup, it’s a heated conversation, and we said what we had to say and moved on.”
But did they actually move on? According to WVLA sports reporter Morgan Beard, something happened between Durant and Cousins after they left the court that resulted in security having to step in.
After Kevin Durant and Demarcus Cousins' ejections – there was some sort of almost-altercation in the back. Cousins came around when KD was exiting. Security has to close doors to separate the two #GoldenState #NewOrleans #Warriors #Pelicans
— Morgan Beard (@morganbeard) December 5, 2017
That report is unconfirmed, and it’s possible — if not likely — that the alleged exchange was nothing more than a continuation of the verbal sparring that began during the game.
Whatever the case, this is just the latest example of Durant showing how quickly he can lose his cool in certain situations. While he noted that he always makes sure the game is well in-hand before he risks getting ejected, the Warriors would almost certainly prefer if he didn’t get tossed at all.
