Kevin Durant became the league leader in ejections last night after getting tossed along with New Orleans Pelicans star center DeMarcus Cousins in his second fourth-quarter ejection in the last three games. Head coach Steve Kerr wasn't too pleased about the way his Golden State Warriors have failed to keep their composure throughout this season, emphasizing the need for cool heads to stay locked-in on game action.
“I got to be more focused, I got to be more poised,” Durant said, according to ESPN's Nick Friedell. “I can't let anybody take me off my game.”
“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 perfectly aware of what's taken place this season, yet he was still baited into this ejection after having read the book on Cousins — if you can't beat them, get tossed with them.
Cousins has been known to pull off this kamikaze-like stunt with Draymond Green before, another player who never backs down from trash-talking or on-court banter. Yet Durant assured that he wouldn't allow to get his emotions get the best of him at a critical time in the game.
“It's late in the game. Every time I get ejected, I make sure it's late in the game,” Durant 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.”
Durant was tossed against the Orlando Magic when his team was up 23 points in the fourth quarter, a lead which they managed to extend by the end of the game — but this latest ejection took place as the Warriors had climbed out of a 21-point hole and with his team only up 118-110 with 1:14 left in the game — a much more likely scenario to drop the ball.
The Finals MVP knows his flaws, but he'll have to act on correcting them to establish himself as a responsible starter under Steve Kerr and not give this team another wild lion that can run rampant at a moment's notice.