OAKLAND – There’s nothing like a friendly dis between two longtime NBA friends. Kevin Durant showed that tonight.
Durant might know D.J. Augustin better than any other NBA player. The two played together on the 2006-07 Texas Longhorns basketball team, and a year after Durant was drafted second overall, Augustin also declared for the draft and was selected ninth overall by the Charlotte Bobcats.
More than a decade later, both have carved out careers in the NBA. Even after 11-plus years, Durant said he still knows what to expect from Augustin, and in the fourth quarter, he proved it. After turning the ball over, Durant chased back on defense as Augustin led a 2-on-1 fast break with Evan Fournier. Instead of taking the shot himself, Augustin dished the ball to Fournier and Durant was there to immediately punish the decision with a chase down block.
KD dropped 49 and came up CLUTCH in the 4th for the Warriors! ? pic.twitter.com/zKuZbJDv4U
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) November 27, 2018
Durant said he knew Augustin would pass the ball.
“I turned that rock over so easily, D.J. was sitting right there,” Durant said. “I’ve known him for the last 11 years, so I know he’s not trying to lay the ball up on the break, he’s looking for the assist. So I think that was the reason I was able to get back to into that play, because he wanted to get cute with throwing the ball with the left-hand wraparound pass and I caught it at the perfect time. And I think that put energy into the crowd which gave us energy.”
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