Kevin Durant puts the Jazz Bear in his place
By John Buhler
The Jazz Bear was taking his sweet time getting of the court and Golden State Warriors small forward Kevin Durant had no time for any of that nonsense.
Mascots are just going to be a part of NBA basketball, no matter how some of the frontcourt players feel about it. On Saturday, we learned that it’s not just Chicago Bulls center Robin Lopez that hates mascots. Apparently Kevin Durant has zero use for the Jazz Bear.
The Jazz Bear was doing whatever dumb things he normally does at the Vivint Smart Home Arena. Durant basically gave him the stink eye and said something along the lines of “get your fur of the court.”
Was Durant not entertained? That might have been the best form of nightlife he or any of his 14 Warriors teammates may have had in Salt Lake City on the finest of Saturday nights. You have to be really good to humble a bear.
Durant has been the second-best player in the NBA for some time now. Is the Jazz Bear a top-two NBA mascot? No, because Benny the Bull and Bango the Buck are definitely better. Stuff the Magic Dragon has a cool nose, Harry the Hawk does funny stuff and then there’s that Gorilla that dunks for the Suns. Yeah, he’s pretty cool.
Durant did a phenomenal job of entertaining himself, Greater Salt Lake City and pretty much American on Saturday night. He had 38 points in 38 minutes for the Warriors as they cruised past the Jazz 102-91 to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
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Though it’s going to be super awkward, Durant still has to see the Jazz Bear at least one more time this season. Game 4 will be on Monday night in Salt Lake City at 9:00 p.m. ET. They’ve also got at least 48 more hours to run into each other until then, so watch out. Sometimes you just have to channel your inner Draymond Green and yell at a bear. See, Durant is learning new things in the Bay Area.