"KD got punked, haven't seen this for a long time", Kendrick Perkins reacts to Kevin Durant's performance

KD posted 23 points with four rebounds and three assists but the shocking part was that he started off by just making one shot from his first seven attempts.

Jayson Tatum and Kevin Durant in a file photo. (Image credits: twitter)
By Sujay Gaurav | Apr 18, 2022 | 2 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

The Boston Celtics posted a narrow win over the Brooklyn Nets in game 1 of their playoff series and Kevin Durant’s in particular did not have a great game. Durant posted 23 points with four rebounds and three assists but the sad part was that he started off by just making one shot from his first seven attempts. Jayson Tatum scored a clutch layup to give Boston the win.

Durant’s former OKC Thunder teammate, Kendrick Perkins had some choice words for him. Speaking on ESPN’s First Take, Perkins ranted.

“Look, KD got punked yesterday. And for the first time, I haven’t seen this Kevin Durant in a long time. Yes, when I look at what Grant Williams, Jayson Tatum was doing to him, they were getting physical, they were pushing him off the spot, KD was flailing and flopping everywhere and you know what? Jayson Tatum actually took ownership of guarding him yesterday. For the first time since Giannis Antetokuomnpo, I’ve never seen anybody guard Kevin Durant straight up and block his shot.” 

Read more: Kyrie Irving responds to Celtics crowd: “Embrace it, It’s the dark side”

Stephen A comes to Kevin Durant’s rescue

Stephen A. Smith who is usually very outspoken took the side of Durant and said that Perkins should be ashamed of himself for saying what he did about his former teammate. Smith said, “You should be ashamed of yourself for uttering those words out of your mouth. You have been around too long, you have watched too much basketball, you have participated in too much basketball to use the word punked when it comes to Kevin Durant and his offensive prowess. If somebody pushed him around and they were scoring a bunch of points on him and stuff like that, that would be different. But from an offensive standpoint, you know good and damn well Kevin Durant did not get punked.”