In addition to pouring in 51 points and hitting the game-winner in Friday’s double-overtime win over the Raptors, Kevin Durant picked up his 15th technical foul of the season, which tied him for the league lead with DeMarcus Cousins.
It was flimsy from the very start, as noted by Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman immediately afterward:
Trust your local beat writer, folks.
The technical was indeed rescinded, as Mayberry reported on Sunday.Kevin Durant’s technical foul at Toronto has been rescinded. He now has 14, two away from an automatic one-game suspension.
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) March 23, 2014
Durant received another very questionable technical a few days back, after taking a few steps toward Cleveland’s Anderson Varejao in a small show of emotion following a put-back slam.
If he gets two more over the final 13 games of the season, it’ll mean an automatic one-game suspension, which on the surface seems hard to understand given Durant’s normally pleasant demeanor. But with the second highest usage rate in the league behind only his teammate Russell Westbrook, Durant has the ball in his hands more than anyone else, and is therefore the recipient of more contact from defenders that the referees let go without a whistle.
It’s something he needs to get in check, but the regular season numbers won’t hurt him in the playoffs; the count is reset once the postseason begins.
