Video: The Cavaliers finally found a way to silence Kevin Durant
Through two games of the NBA Finals, Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant has been a model of efficiency, dominating the Cleveland Cavaliers on both ends to stake his team to a 2-0 series lead.
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So, when Durant conducted his off-day interview in the depths of Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena and an air conditioning unit started rattling and humming over his head, there were more than a few jokes muttered about LeBron James pulling a Tonya Harding on the likely Finals MVP to this point:
KD bolted quick when the A/C was acting up. pic.twitter.com/NPdy0q9MtT
— Jordan Ramirez (@JRAM_91) June 6, 2017
“That’s scaring me a little bit up here, but —” Durant said when the noise interrupted a question from NBA on TNT’s Rosalyn Gold-Onwude, stopping to look up at the plumbing. “Yeah, that thing’s shaking a little bit, buddy.”
Are we sure nobody saw noted instigator Dahntay Jones tinkering with a wrench up in those rafters?
Kevin Durant's press conference ends abruptly when the AC unit above him started making strange sounds… pic.twitter.com/CI6q4ruuME
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) June 6, 2017
At any rate, the Cavs finally found a way to silence Durant, if only on an off-day. Cleveland’s last hope on the court in Game 3 might just be that the air conditioning actually went out and KD cramps up a la LeBron in Game 1 of the 2014 Finals in San Antonio. Somewhere Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is smiling.
And who could blame Durant for avoiding a Warner Brothers-esque demise and exiting before an A/C unit served as the anvil to his Wile E. Coyote-like end. The best part was the few seconds of silence as the camera sat on an empty microphone before a PR person said, “That concludes today. Thank you.”
Maybe the NBA realized how little drama there’s been in the Finals and interjected with some comedic relief. All that was missing was the A/C unit falling from the ceiling at the end of the news conference.
As for the series itself, the Cavaliers spent their media availability on Tuesday ensuring us they will play at the same furious pace we’ve seen in the first two games, despite running out of gas in a pair of blowouts. Let’s just say this A/C issue isn’t the best sign that the Cavs’ conditioning is improved at all.
Conversely, it’s no surprise Durant kept his cool even as the A/C failed to. (OK, I’ll show myself out.)
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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at rohrbach_ben@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
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