Warriors vs. Refs is this season’s biggest NBA rivalry

Up 21 points against the second-seeded Denver Nuggets early in the third quarter, Kevin Durant pulled up from three-point range and air-balled badly. The former MVP was convinced forward Paul Millsap fouled him across the arm, and let the officials know it as he stormed down the floor on defense. Two technical fouls and an ejection from the game followed quickly as Durant continued firing expletives in the referee’s direction.

So it goes for the 2018-19 Warriors.

The regular season for Golden State has been a months-long slog, with players seeming disinterested in anticipation of the postseason. In lieu of a chase for historic dominance, the Warriors have merely coasted to the third-best record in the league. Recently, they’ve also developed an unflattering reputation for beefing with the refs.

Durant’s pair of technicals brought him up to 15 on the season, tied with teammate Draymond Green. A 16th will earn each an automatic suspension. Despite only playing in 27 games, DeMarcus Cousins has earned seven as well. Even Klay Thompson has three this year after just eight total in his first eight seasons in the NBA.

Tuesday night’s technicals were a mere continuation of The Big Ref Fight in Friday’s wild loss to the Timberwolves. That saw Durant get the short end of a call that could’ve won Golden State the game, Steph Curry drain a game-tying three-pointer anyway and taunt a ref thereafter, and then Durant get whistled for an off-ball foul on Minnesota’s final possession in overtime. It’s best explained here.

After the game, all three of Durant, Curry, and Draymond Green were issued hefty fines. Green was docked $35,000 for a pair of two-letter tweets: “TD”, followed by “MK.” Those tweets compared ref Marat Kogut to infamous cheater Tim Donaghy, who was banned from the league for gambling on games he and others officiated. Curry was fined $25,000 after calling Kogut the “MVP of the night,” while Durant was fined $15,000 for publicly condemning the officiating.

Targeting officials seem ill-timed, given the postseason is just around the corner. They’ve done it all season, but the Warriors appear to really be putting their foot on the pedal. We’ll see if that comes back to haunt them.