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Kevin Durant tried his hardest to avoid criticism of the officiating after the Golden State Warriors' 131-130 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. When asked by reporters to decide which call was worst among multiple controversial whistles late, he was even initially able to rein himself in, wary of a likely fine from the league office.
“You're just trying to get me fined,” he said, per Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “I'm not trying to get fined, man.”
But moments later, the two-time reigning Finals MVP's frustration got the best of him. Durant even went so far as to single out one official, Marat Kogut, for a questionable call toward the end of regulation, sarcastically calling him “one of the greatest refs of all time.”
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“I'm sure all you guys could agree with me when I say we should be playing five more minutes,” Durant said.
“Marat, what's his name? He was the best player on the floor tonight. He's so good with his whistle that he knew they were gonna foul me, and he called it right before I shot the ball, so he's one of the greatest refs of all time.”
But Durant saved his most thorough critique for the game's defining play: A foul called on him while defending Karl-Anthony Towns with .5 seconds remaining as Minnesota threw a lob from the far sideline that went sailing out of bounds. Towns made the ensuing free throw, breaking a tie, then missed the second intentionally to steal a victory for the Timberwolves.
“A couple. All you need is one time. All you need to see it is once,” Durant said when asked if he'd watched the replay of the play in question. “I mean, late in the game, you know, can you be physical like that late in the game? I didn't extend my arms on the push, I didn't grab, I didn't impede anybody's movement. Plus, the ball was already out of bounds. I mean, would you call that one? Nah. My little brother probably wouldn't have called that one. They need to just let us play. They should have just let us play. We should be still playing right now.”
Durant had 23 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists against Minnesota, but struggled shooting the ball, going just 8-of-22 from the field.
