It was a bizarre night in Brooklyn for the Nets on Friday – with superstar Kevin Durant initially out of the game, then allowed, and finally removed in the third quarter because of NBA health and safety prototypes.
In the end, the Toronto Raptors beat Nets 123-117, with 33 points from Pascal Siakam.
Subsequently, Durant issued the two-word message, “Free me,” on Twitter, and later violated the NBA for what he described as “Wack a– PR tactics” after the league issued a statement about its removal.
“Yo @nba,” Durant wrote, “Your fans aren’t stupid !!!! You can’t fool them with your Wack a– PR PR tactics.”
He was reacting to the phrase “abundant caution” that the NBA used in a statement on the matter after the game.
According to the NBA statement, posted by writer Shams Charania, Durant tested negative for coronavirus “three times in the last 24 hours”, but the person he came into contact with “had an inconclusive test result just before the game” .
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That person’s test caused Durant to delay entering the game. Later, when the contact test was positive during the game, Durant was removed.
Pascal Siakam (43) and Chris Boucher (25) of the Toronto Raptors (25) defend against Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets (7) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Friday, February 5, 2021, in Brooklyn , NY (Associated Press)
“As soon as the test was confirmed positive, as a precaution, Durant was removed from the game, and contact tracking is underway to determine whether he was in fact a close contact with the positive individual.”
Friday was Durant’s first game against the Raptors since his Achilles tendon ruptured in the 2019 NBA finals, when he was a member of the Golden State Warriors. He entered as a reserve for the first time in his 867 NBA career, according to The Associated Press.
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The Nets had recovered from a 17-point deficit to take the lead, but could not keep up without the NBA scorer.
Kyle Lowry added 30 points and seven assists for the Raptors. Siakam had 11 rebounds and six assists.
Joe Harris scored 19 points and James Harden had 17 points and 12 assists for the Nets.
Durant finished with eight points, after scoring 20 or more in each of the first 17 games, the longest streak of a season in his career.