Kevin Durant dismissed the on-court clash with Bruce Brown as part of basketball's competitive nature, saying trash talk and crossing the line are normal and that Brown still has to learn how to "talk and play."
Kevin Durant didn't hold back after a heated moment with Bruce Brown during Saturday night's game between the Houston Rockets and the Denver Nuggets, saying Brown still needs to "learn how to talk and play."
The two got into a visibly intense verbal exchange in the third quarter of Denver's 115–101 loss, and Brown later told reporters that his former Brooklyn Nets teammate had gone too far with his words.
Durant didn't shy away from that assessment.
"I definitely wanted to cross the line tonight," KD said. "That's basketball. That's in-between the lines. Ain't no respect, ain't no love, nothing. And people don't show love to me.
"They cross the line a lot with their physicality, you know what I'm saying? That's just part of the game," he added. "Some people can talk and play, some people can't.
"I had to learn how to talk and play, as a player. So, I think Bruce is probably learning the same thing."
Neither Durant nor Brown revealed exactly what was said during the exchange.
On the court, Durant backed up his words with his play, finishing as the game's leading scorer with 31 points in 40 minutes. Afterward, he made it clear he welcomed the competitive edge.
"I enjoy it when we go back and forth. That's basketball," Durant noted. "And a lot of people say that's missing from the game. When I do it, it's a problem."
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