“Nothing personal and all competition” – Kevin Durant discloses exchange between Trae Young and himself as Brooklyn Nets get win over Atlanta Hawks
Kevin Durant loves to compete. As the Brooklyn Nets got the better of the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, Durant got drawn into a bit of banter with Trae Young towards the end of the contest. With the Nets leading 107-102 with about two minutes left in the game, Durant and Young exchanged words as both teams were keen to finish the game with the W.
Durant was guarding Trae Young on the possession and was called for a pushing foul when the incident occurred. Young pushed Durant in return, which led to the jawing between the two.
The moment, however, did not escalate into anything bigger as both players were drawn apart by referees and their respective teammates. Both Durant and Trae Young were hit with technical fouls even as the Brooklyn Nets held on to get the road win 113-105 over Atlanta.
KD & Trae jawing 👀
(via @APOOCH)
https://t.co/s19iGsJ6zB
Durant, who finished the contest with 31 points on 12-of-22 shooting (54.5%), five rebounds and six assists, was candid about the chat he had with Young in the heat of the moment. Durant called the episode “nothing personal and all competition”.
Kevin Durant said the exchange between himself and Trae Young was “nothing personal and all competition.”
Trae Young, too, had 31 points in the contest, but had a far less efficient shooting night as he went 10-of-27 (37.0%) from the floor and just 2-of-8 (25.0%) from downtown. And while Young managed to get a double-double with 10 assists, he also committed seven turnovers in the game, which amounted to half of Atlanta’s 14 total turnovers.
Durant, Harden combine for 51 as Brooklyn Nets overcome loss against Houston
Before the win against the Hawks on Friday, the Brooklyn Nets lost their previous regular season game on Wednesday to Houston. Kevin Durant was rested for that contest but found his groove immediately versus the Hawks.
James Harden, who shot poorly down the stretch against the Rockets, had a solid outing too against Atlanta. Harden tallied 20 points, 11 assists and five rebounds to help the Brooklyn Nets win their 18th game of the season.
KD & James did their thing in the ATL tonight https://t.co/AwJJ8kLAzM
Durant currently leads the NBA’s scoring averages for this season with 28.5 ppg. He is shooting 53.0% from the field for the season while also tallying 7.6 rpg and 5.4 apg.
With Durant leading from the front, the Brooklyn Nets find themselves in pole position in the Eastern Conference standings. They complete their four-game road trip with a visit to Detroit on Sunday. The Nets are 2-1 in this stretch away from home.