October 30, (THEWILL) – Rick Carlisle, the head coach of the Indiana Pacers, expressed surprise that Brooklyn Nets forward Kevin Durant was not disqualified after chucking the ball into the fans’ stands during the Nets’ win on Friday night.
Durant threw the ball overhand at the hoop after being fouled with 4:40 left in the third quarter, and it flew over the backboard and into the crowd.
“I think I saw Kevin Durant wind up and throw the ball overhand, 10 or 15 rows into the stands and not get ejected,” Carlisle said with a laugh after the game. “I think that’s what I saw. And so that was shocking.”
When he was asked what the officials’ explanation for not ejecting Durant was, Carlisle replied, “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. These guys are nice guys. They just made a big error. The league will address it.”
Carlisle, who is the president of the National Basketball Coaches Association, continued: “You don’t want to hear the explanation. And at this point, it doesn’t matter, because it’s not going to change the outcome. But it’s something that’s a significant thing that just can’t be missed, that’s all.”
Durant stayed in the game the rest of the way, scoring three points and dishing out five assists. In a 105-97 win. He had 22 points, 11 rebounds, and seven assists.
After the game, referee Sean Wright spoke with a pool reporter about the missed call: “In real time, the official that made the call did not think the ball entered the stands with force. After seeing the video postgame, we did see the ball did go into the stands with force and Kevin Durant should have been ejected.”
Afterward, Durant said he was aiming for the backboard and had no idea he could be ejected for throwing the ball into the stands. Anticipating a fine from the league, the Nets’ forward said: “I didn’t know what I was thinking.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
