NBA: Durant 'should've been ejected' vs. Pacers

Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant. Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports

Nets' Kevin Durant 'should've been ejected' vs. Pacers, NBA officials say

By Adam Stites | Last updated 10/30/21

Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant came away with only a technical foul on a play that should've been an automatic ejection, an NBA official admitted Friday night.

In the third quarter of the Nets' 105-98 win over the Indiana Pacers, Durant inexplicably fired the ball into the crowd after he was fouled near the three-point line.

Kevin Durant launches ball into stands and isn’t ejected pic.twitter.com/kriBGtZ9oy
— hoops bot (@hoops_bot) October 30, 2021

According to the NBA rulebook, "any player who throws or kicks the ball directly into the stands with force, regardless of the reason or where it lands, will be assessed a technical foul and ejected." After the game, crew chief Sean Wright said the officials got it wrong.

"In real time, the official that made the call did not think the ball entered the stands with force," Wright said, via a pool report. "After seeing the video postgame, we did see that the ball did go into the stands with force and Kevin Durant should’ve been ejected."

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle was especially frustrated by Durant staying in the game and told reporters it was a "big error."

"I’m not going to share the explanation because I don’t want to embarrass the officials. I don’t want to embarrass the league. I just don’t," Carlisle said, via Alex Golden. "These guys are nice guys, and they just made a big error."

Durant added four more points and four more rebounds after receiving the technical foul, finishing with 22 and 11, respectively.

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