Perhaps the most controversial moment coming out of the thrilling Game 5 battle between the Golden State Warriors and Toronto Raptors was how some Raptors fans initially reacted as Kevin Durant went down with what turned out to be a grave Achilles injury.
The home crowd was jeering Durant all night long, and as soon as he fell to the ground, some of the home supporters got a bit carried away and started cheering for the former MVP's injury. Along with several other players on the court, Dubs superstar Stephen Curry already had a hunch that this was a serious matter, which is why he was shocked at the initial reaction of some Raptors fans.
The former back-to-back MVP shared his thoughts on the ugly incident following his team's tightly contested 106-105 victory, saying he believed it was uncharacteristic of Toronto fans to have reacted the way they did:
Warriors' Stephen Curry on cheering fans after Kevin Durant's injury: "Very confused around that reaction. It's not my experience with people of this city. I commend Danny Green and Kyle Lowry for signaling to the crowd. I hope that ugliness doesn't show itself again."
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 11, 2019
To be fair to Raptors fans, once they realized the gravity of the situation, they quickly showed their true colors and began cheering for Durant himself. As Curry expressed, this was not what we would expect from a very polite and classy Toronto fan base, so perhaps this was just them being too engrossed in the moment.
The sad news is that Durant looks like he's done for the season, and perhaps much longer if his MRI confirms what many suspect this injury to be: a career-altering Achilles tear. Nonetheless, the Warriors fought admirably without their superstar in Game 5, and they will have no choice but to repeat this act two more times if they hope to achieve their coveted three-peat.
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