"NBA fans really got love for you; it's just misplaced love I guess" - Kevin Durant on Brooklyn Nets being disliked by fans
Kevin Durant has nothing against fans who hate the Brooklyn Nets. To the contrary, Durant believes that fans across the league "enjoy" watching the Nets play basketball. Durant made this comment after the Nets lost their much-anticipated game to the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night.
Asked why he thought the fans had such animosity towards his team, Kevin Durant replied:
"A lot of stuff that probably factors into it. NBA fans really got love for you. It's just misplaced love I guess. At the end of the day people enjoy watching us play."
Besides the general dislike for the Nets, Durant was also asked about Ben Simmons returning to play in front of his former team's fans for the very first time. Simmons finished with a relatively decent statline – 11 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, three steals and three blocks while starting his second consecutive game.
Durant was asked about Simmons' return because the two-time Finals MVP knows a thing or two about the experience. Durant had to face a hostile OKC Thunder crowd after becoming a member of the Golden State Warriors. He replied to the question, saying:
"It's a lot of emotions. You just want to play well. You know the fans are going to be get involved... just bring their best. That's at every arena.
"Everybody wants to see our team fail. Nobody likes Ben. Nobody likes [Kyrie]. Nobody likes myself. It might be like that at every road arena. It's just something we gotta deal with. But I thought he did a great job, which is handling and playing his game."
Kevin Durant on why the Nets are disliked by fans:
"A lot of stuff that probably factors into it. NBA fans really got love for you. It's just misplaced love I guess" 😂 https://t.co/R8RTFbBmmF
Kevin Durant's streak of scoring 25-plus points comes to an end
Brooklyn's 106-115 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers saw Kevin Durant finish with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists on 64.3% (9-of-14) shooting from the floor. Durant also had two blocks in the game.
However, the 20-point outing meant that Durant's streak of 25-plus points in each of his first 17 games of the season came to an end. Tuesday marked Durant's lowest scoring game in a season where he is averaging 29.8 ppg.
While Durant had a sub-par outing, the Nets lost the game to the 76ers despite shooting 55.0% from the field. When asked to explain the reason for the Nets' loss, Kevin Durant gave an insightful reply. He remarked:
"It's the same s--t. 20 more shots than us and seven more 3-pointers. That's the game."
When queried about how the Nets can get better, the 12-time All-Star replied:
"Just go do it. I mean, just go do what we need to do. Rebound, box out, move the ball, guard one-on-one.
The loss gives the Nets an 8-10 record overall for the season. They are currently in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings, having lost three of their last five games. The Nets also have two more road games to play before they return to the comfort of the Barclays Center for a seven-game home stand, beginning Nov. 27.