Tempers flared during the Phoenix Sun’s win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night.
During the first quarter of Phoenix’s 119-117 comeback win, cameras caught Suns superstar Kevin Durant and head coach Mike Budenholzer in a frosty exchange.
Budenholzer appeared to grab Durant’s left forearm during a timeout.
It appeared to be an attempt to stop the four-time Olympic gold medalist heading to the bench so he could discuss a botched offensive play with him.
However, KD seemingly didn’t want to continue the chat, yanking his arm away in a forceful manner before continuing to the bench, turning around and barking some words at Budenholzer.
“I don’t want to be a hypocrite because I was that guy, I was tough to coach,” NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal said on Inside the NBA about the moment.
“When you’re the leader of the team, it sets a bad example.”
After the game, Durant spoke with reporters, playing down the incident and expressing dismay that it had been made into such a big deal by the media.
“That’s what happens when you don’t know the dynamics of the relationship,” Durant said postgame. “You catch something on TV and you get a quote and then you’re pushing that narrative as if me and Bud don’t do that (expletive) all the time. We’re competitive as two individuals who want to see things done the right way.
“And sometimes my way ain’t the way that Bud wants to do it and vice versa and he allows me as a player on the team, a veteran on the team to voice my opinion. If we both didn’t care, we’d never have stuff like that.”
“I’m glad that the win is going to sweep all that stupid stuff under the rug because people couldn’t wait, even some people in Phoenix in here couldn’t wait to run with that and say this is the reason the team ain’t playing well because that specific thing,” Durant added.
“But come on, man. That shows me and Bud really care about trying to right this ship and trying to win basketball games. So he understands where I’m coming from, I understand exactly where he’s coming from. It’s just the people on the outside don’t know the dynamics of the relationship so in order for them to get some attention they’re going to run stuff like that.
Durant played 41 minutes and finished with 34 points on 10-for-22 shooting, seven rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocks. He had 19 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and sparked a rally from a 23-point deficit.
“He and I are like old friends whenever we’re on the spot grabbing and talking to each other,” Budenholzer said after the game.
“I thought his energy and his voice tonight was great. I think there was some kind of play, offensive play, he wanted something, I wanted something and that’s the beauty of basketball.”
A video later showed Durant tapping Budenholzer to talk things out when players were returning to the court after the same timeout.
“I wish they’d cut to that and slow-mo that when me and him are trying to come to a solution together and we’re smiling on the bench and tapping each other on the chest and slapping hands hard,” Durant added.
“I wish they would post that on Instagram and Twitter and say, ‘Wow, this is leadership right here.’ But when we do that other (expletive), that gets attention and that’s just the nature of the world we’re in. That’s the nature of content and the NBA in general, so it’s frustrating when you see (expletive) like that.
“And you see the reaction to it, but I know deep down what it is between Bud and I, and he knows it too, and this ain’t the first time we got into it, not even got into it but had a quick disagreement and moved right on right after the last play. So it’s not gonna be the last either. And Bud knows that, and he knows and respects how much I care, and I respect how much he cares.”
Durant also praised Budenholzer’s decision to insert Collin Gillespie into the lineup late in the third quarter.
The guard ended up contributing 10 points, and three assists in 15 minutes of action, and was crucial in the comeback.
“Coach made a great adjustment throwing him in there,” Durant said. “Coach was just perfect, to be honest. Every adjustment he made was incredible. He was catalyst for all of it.”
The Suns remain in 11th place in the Western Conference standings with an 29-33 record, three games ravaged Dallas Mavericks for the final play-in spot.
