Kevin Durant On NBA's Referee Reports: "I Think It's Bullshit"

On Christmas, the Golden State Warriors blew a big fourth quarter lead against the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first Finals rematch game. The next day, the NBA admitted that the refs blew a couple big calls at the end of the game. This annoyed Kevin Durant, but not in the direction you might think:

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DeMarcus Cousins Really, Really Likes Joel Embiid

DeMarcus Cousins and Joel Embiid went at each other all night in an entertaining battle of the bigs as the Kings beat the Sixers 102-100. Cousins’ 30-7-5 stat line just topped Embiid’s 25-8-1, and judging by the jovial butt slaps and Boogie’s comments after the game, our two protagonists had just as much fun playing against each other as fans had watching it:

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Rockets Rookie's Campaign To Bring Back Granny Free Throws Finally Reaches NBA

It’s been a long journey for our intrepid hero, the free throw retro-innovator Chinanu Onuaku. The first-year Houston Rocket managed to toss up a couple of his trademark underhand free throws in a preseason trip to China earlier this year, but tonight was the first time he managed to display his beautiful shooting motion in a regular season NBA game:

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NBA Admits That Refs Blew Two Calls In Favor Of Cavs; Warriors Remain Chump-Ass Chokers

The Golden State Warriors had all but the killed the Cleveland Cavaliers, and then they lost. This was famously the case back in June, and it was just as true last night. No amount of well-actuallying—not even after tonight, when the NBA owned up to the referees missing two critical late-game calls that aided the Cavs in their comeback—can change the fact that this was all the Warriors’ fault.

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Kyrie Irving Buried The Warriors Again

Round one between the new-look Warriors and the defending champion Cavaliers went to Cleveland, 109-108, with the knockout blow once again delivered by Kyrie Irving, who drove Klay Thompson into the paint with four seconds left before spinning around and getting an improbable fadeaway jumper to just kiss off the inside of the rim.

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Richard Jefferson Gets Technical Foul For Dunking On, Winking At Kevin Durant

Richard Jefferson dunked all over Kevin Durant during today’s big Warriors-Cavaliers game, and winked at the young man as he headed back up the court. That earned the 36-year-old a technical foul in today’s increasingly no-fun NBA.

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Now, A Beautiful Song About Kristaps Porzingis From His Grandmother And Aunts

Kristaps Porzingis was named Latvian Athlete of the Year at the annual Latvijas Gada Balva Sportā ceremony today. He was unable to accept the award in person, as his Knicks are playing the Magic right now. This was ultimately a good thing, however, as it meant that we got to see some of his relatives do it on his behalf.

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I Hope The Beef Between Meyers Leonard And DeMarcus Cousins Lasts Forever

DeMarcus Cousins dropped 55 points on Tuesday, but not before dropping a platter of hot beef on Meyers Leonard’s lap. In the decisive seconds of the fourth quarter, he spun his way into a pretty and-1, walked over to the Blazers bench and let some choice words and a mouthguard fall out of his mouth:

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George Karl: I Struggled Because My Players Didn't Have Good Dads 

Longtime NBA head coach George Karl has written a book, titled Furious George, and in that book he partakes in the time-honored and always-wack tradition of coaches talking shit about players they used to coach. (Or so we are told by the New York Post, which got its hands on a copy of the book.)

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DeMarcus Cousins Apologizes To Everyone Except The Sacramento Bee

A week after DeMarcus Cousins chewed out a Sacramento Bee columnist for writing about his brother—and three days after the Bee released video of the incident—the Kings center has reportedly been fined $50,000 by the NBA. He also released an apology heavy on public relations-speak:

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The NBA's New “Kevin Durant Rule” Will Incentivize Young Superstars To Stay Put

We knew the new CBA made life a little sweeter for the NBA’s superstars, but it’s a dense thing to parse, and explanations have been dribbling out slowly. ESPN’s new Q&A with salary cap expert Larry Coon argues that the most noteworthy development is the owners’ new weapon to keep their superstar players locked in.

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Celebrate Nikola Jokić, The Big Boy Who Can Pass

We should revise our initial appraisal of Nikola Jokić: Denver’s second-year center can pass the ball, and deserves that reputation. Coach Mike Malone attributes the 21-year-old’s buttery playmaking to his past as a “fat point guard,” and though that chub has since been stretched thin over a 6-foot-10 frame, the skills remain: he posted 27 points, 15 rebounds, and 9 assists in last night’s win over the Mavericks. Here’s his slickest dish of the night, a no-look bounce pass to hit Gary Harris on a backdoor cut:

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