Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant was ejected on Sunday night in the third quarter in Brooklyn’s 117-91 (box score) win over the Detroit Pistons. The ejection came after Durant shoved Pistons big man Kelly Olynyk while he was setting a screen, and after review of the play, officials determined it was a Flagrant 2 foul which is an automatic ejection.
Here is the play where the shove happened:
When asked after the game if he thought the Flagrant 2 was warranted, Brooklyn head coach Steve Nash declined to comment on it. This ejection comes just a day after Durant was fined $25,000 by the league for throwing a basketball in the stands during the Nets game on Friday night. He wasn’t ejected for that, however when the league announced the fine it said he should have been tossed from the game. After being ejected on Sunday night, Durant will be assessed another fine from the league, this time it will be $2,000.
At the time of Durant’s ejection, the Nets were already ahead comfortably by 17 points, so they didn’t necessarily need him for the remainder of the game, as James Harden carried the team down the stretch. However, it’s never ideal for your best player to be unavailable for the remainder of the game, regardless of how big the lead is.
