Nets' Kevin Durant says third quarter ejection vs. Pistons 'ignited the crowd'

Nets star forward Kevin Durant was ejected against the Detroit Pistons in the third quarter after being called for a flagrant 2 foul.

Durant was called for the foul after pushing through the Pistons' Kelly Olynyk on a screen and extending his arms at Olynyk's head and neck area.

After officials looked at the video, they confirmed the flagrant 2 foul and ejected Durant with 3:23 left in the third quarter. He finished the game with 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting with five assists, a rebound, and a block in 27 minutes of action.

After the game, Durant spoke to reporters about the play that led to his ejection.

"I tried to run through the screen," Durant said. "That was just a result of me trying to blow the screen up. From looking at it at the tape, it looked like I extended a little bit. I was just trying to blow the screen up, fight through, it is what it is."

Soon after KD got ejected, the Nets went on an 11-0 run with James Harden assisting on all five baskets. The Beard stepped up in Durant's absence and finished with 18 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds for his 59th career triple-double. He's now tied for second all time in league history for triple-doubles, with Larry Bird.

"I want to take credit and say I ignited my team and my leadership was the reason why they were able to go on that 11-0 run," Durant said. "So I ignited the crowd with me getting kicked out, and my team. But James is a controller of the game, he understand the game, puts people in good positions. It's not a surprise he can take us on a run so fast."