Since joining the Golden State Warriors last year, NBA fans have seen a feistier and more confrontational version of Kevin Durant.
His aggressive side was once again on full display on Monday (Tuesday in Manila) when he got ejected against the New Orleans Pelicans at Smoothie King Center—his third disqualification in 18 games.
With over a minute left in the game, the one-time league MVP figured in a verbal spat with notoriously temperamental center DeMarcus Cousins, resulting in both players being thrown out of the game.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpKjN_1vuDo
Speaking to ESPN’s Nick Friedell, the 29-year-old forward said he had to compose himself better, but felt the latest ejection was “pretty quick.”
“I got to be more focused, I got to be more poised. I can’t let anybody take me off my game,” he said.
“I’ve been in the league too long. Especially somebody like Cousins, we know that he’s feisty, we know that he’s emotional. We know that he plays that way, so I can’t get involved in that. That’s who he is; I got to be me.”
Durant is currently leading the league in ejections during the 2017-2018 NBA season, while Cousins is the only other player with more than one.
Still, Durant makes sure that his outbursts won’t cost the team a victory, by not putting himself in any danger of getting tossed in the early stages of a game.
“It’s late in the game. Every time I get ejected, I make sure it’s late in the game,” he said. “I’m not messing up like that in the first or second quarter—make sure it’s late in the game if I want to do something.”
Prior to this season, Durant only had one ejection in his first 10 years in the league. Khristian Ibarrola /ra