The Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder playoffs series in the first round had a ton of intrigue entering the postseason and after three games things have gotten even more intense, as Kevin Durant took some revenge on Jeremy Lin after Patrick Beverly knocked out point guard Russell Westbrook for the rest of the playoffs after lunging at his knee in a controversial play.
According to Yahoo Sports, Durant took some revenge on the Rockets in the team's Game 3 win on Saturday, as he lunged for a steal on point guard Jeremy Lin as he was pulling up to call for a timeout -- which was the exact same thing that rookie Patrick Beverley did to Russell Westbrook in the previous game, knocking him out for the rest of the playoffs.
The play was very similar to the one in the previous game and while Beverley denied that he was trying to hurt Westbrook, many in the media and around basketball cried foul since he was clearly calling a timeout on the play. Things got serious after the game as well, with police having to look into death threats that the OKC ball boy placed on Twitter following the game. Westbrook suffered a torn meniscus in his knee and after surgery he will miss the rest of the postseason, leaving the Thunder in a tough position to rebound after trying to make a second straight run to the NBA Finals. Durant responded with 41 points in the first game without Westbrook in his career since he was drafted, but it's unclear if he will be able to keep up that production.
Lin already was dealing with a chest injury suffered in Game 2 and missed the second half and now he also could be a little extra nicked up after the hard contact, which appeared to be near his chest. Lin is getting his first taste of the NBA playoffs after missing out with the Knicks last season while injured and after playing poorly in Game 1 he rebounded with a solid first half in Game 2 before being injured. Durant is not known as a dirty player and while the play was seemingly legal, Durant may have been trying to send the Rockets and Beverley a message with his hard contact due to the Westbrook loss.
Lin missed time in Game 3 and Durant was dominant as the team took a 3-0 lead, hitting over half his shots while scoring 27 points before halftime. Lin should be able to play the rest of the series, while Durant will have even more pressure on himself through the rest of the playoffs as Westbrook is gone and the team is still also recovering from trading away James Harden, who has yet to win a game against his former team in the playoffs while with the Rockets.