OAKLAND -- Kevin Durant woke up Thursday morning knowing the day would be, um, eventful.
He was not disappointed.
"It was definitely a fun day," he said after a 126-113 Warriors victory over Minnesota.
Durant was slapped with a $15,000-dollar fine in the morning. That was the penalty for "public criticism of the officiating" after a 123-112 win over the Knicks on Tuesday.
Durant claimed Tuesday that crew chief James Williams harbored a grudge against him that carried from the first half into the second and, eventually, concluded when Williams called a second technical foul on Durant, resulting in automatic ejection, in the fourth.
Durant on Wednesday apologized for his behavior the previous night, saying he was an "a--hole" and "a jerk" on the court. NBA officials tweeted their acceptance of the apology, but Kiki Vandeweghe, who oversees such matters, assessed a fine.
Getting past that, Durant expected a few other matters to come his way.
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"I was looking forward to seeing who was going to be on the All-Star teams, looking forward to seeing what my fine was going to be and also, most importantly, looking forward to playing tonight," he said. "I'm glad we got a W."
Durant was selected first overall by captain LeBron James in the first All-Star Game draft. He is the only member of the Warriors that will suit up for Team LeBron.
"It's definitely humbling when you get respect from your peers," Durant said of being the overall No. 1 pick. "That's what you want. And I feel like I've been earning that respect my whole career.
I didn't think that the All-Star Game would give me that feeling of respect from everybody. But it's cool. It's good to see and I'm looking forward to having a great time."
Durant closed out the evening with his second triple-double of the season and 10th of his career: 28 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.
"Life could be much worse," he said.
