Kevin Durant on Ejection by James Williams: It's 'Like He's Trying to Get Me'

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Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant suggested Tuesday that a first-half disagreement with official James Williams led to his second-half ejection during a 123-112 win over the New York Knicks.

According to ESPN.com's Chris Haynes, Durant said he and Williams argued over a carry in the opening half, which he believes contributed to what occurred later:

"Well, the first half, I was dribbling up the right side and I made a left-to-right cross, and he said I carried. I kind of let that go. I asked him where he got the carry from. He said I froze the defender, and I said that's what the crossover is for and that's why I do it, to freeze my defender.

"And he tried to make a bunch of excuses, and I told him he was wrong, and he went into halftime probably with an attitude. So the second half, his whole thing is like he's trying to get me."

During the third quarter, Durant was called for a technical foul for slamming the ball down in frustration. Williams then issued him a technical late in the fourth for arguing a call.

Regarding the ejection, Durant said similar situations have occurred across the league this season:

"Look at my first tech. I got the rebound and I dribbled the ball hard, and he teched me up. He was searching for me. He was looking to try to tech me up to get me back because he's still in his feelings from the first half. That's what's been going on around the league the whole year. A bunch of that. I got to keep my head a little bit, but I was upset. I'm a human being too. I get upset."

Per Haynes, Durant has received 10 technical fouls and four ejections this season after being tossed only once in his career previously.

The ejection happened with just 2:50 remaining in the game and Golden State leading by 17 points.

While Durant finished with just 14 points on 10 shots, he also dished out 14 assists and pulled down four rebounds.

The win represented a bounce-back effort for Golden State after it lost to the Houston Rockets on Saturday.

At 38-10, Durant and the Warriors hold a 3.5-game lead over the Rockets for the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

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