Kevin Durant called out Montrezl Harrell after the 76ers center dismissed Nic Claxton's improvement this season before Philadelphia's matchup with the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday.
“Come on Montrezl, you was talking crazy. You not like that,” Durant said on his podcast, the ETCs. “You’re an enforcer as a basketball player, but you’re not that guy. Clax is having a good year, come on man, don't do that.”
"You not like that. You're an enforcer as a basketball player, but you're not that guy. Clax is having a good year. There was a little shade in that."
Kevin Durant called out Montrezl Harrell for talking down on Nic Claxton 👀
(via @boardroom)pic.twitter.com/UTvk5MdSMI
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) January 30, 2023
The response comes after Harrell said Claxton was “not the focus” of his energy prior to his matchup with the Nets center.
“I don’t know nothing about that, brother,” Harrell said when asked about Claxton's emergence. “You’re talking about a guy who steps up, but at the same time, Kyrie (Irving) is the head of that snake… It’s good that (Claxton) is playing well and stuff like that. Cool, but it’s not the focal point of our (defense) or what we’re trying to take away.”
“So kudos to him, but at the same time, brother, that’s not the focus of my lock-in. I’m just gonna come out and make sure Kyrie isn’t getting downhill, make sure he isn’t creating for his guys and make sure he isn’t causing a whole lot of havoc in order to get Claxton open.”
Kevin Durant has been vocal in his praise of Claxton amid the young center's breakout. And the former MVP said it shouldn't be hard for a player like Harrell to do the same.
“There's a little shade in that,” Durant continued. “Of course, Kyrie (is) the head of the snake, just like Joel Embiid's the head of the snake, but we're not gonna forget about Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey and you and James (Harden), but come on bro. Give somebody some credit fam, it ain't that hard.”
Claxton has been one of the NBA's top breakout players while cementing himself as a Defensive Player of the Year candidate. The fourth-year Net ranks second in defensive rating among players on pace to play at least 2000 minutes, trailing only Giannis Antetokounmpo. Claxton leads the league in blocks per game (2.7) this season while also continuing his emergence as an elite perimeter defender.
The Georgia product's most dramatic improvement has come on the offensive end where he is leading the league in field goal percentage (74.7). The 23-year-old has converted on 28-of-31 attempts (90.3 percent) over his last three games as Brooklyn searches for offense with Durant sidelined.
Harrell's comments also drew a response from Claxton before Wednesday's matchup:
“I just want to know what he’s doing this year, what his resume is,” the Nets big man said via Brian Lewis. “It definitely adds a little fuel to the fire.”
Claxton backed up his talk by posting a career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds, as well as an emphatic block of a Joel Embiid dunk attempt, during a 137-133 loss at Philadelphia. The performance was part of a career-high five consecutive games with 20-plus points for the Nets center.
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