KD vs. OKC Had All of the Petty Last Night

Let's be real, break-ups in relationships, especially bad break-ups, can bring out the petty in all of us. Picture it: you're at your friend's wedding, celebrating a great night and enjoying yourself when your ex walks in with their new paramour and they look downright giddy. You're pissed and immediately try to show them up. Sometimes this works and you make out like a damn rock star, but sometimes their new guy is a doctor and saves kids from life-threatening illnesses.

You win some, you lose some, but you know who always wins? All of your friends who get to watch the petty-off between you and your ex. It is one of the greatest spectator sports that I can think of. That brings me to last nights game where Kevin Durant returned to OKC. Let's call it what it was: Kevin Durant was OKC and Russell "I don't even care about him anymore" Westbrook's ex and he showed up to the party last night with his new girlfriend, Golden State. Who won? ALL OF AMERICA...and Golden State...by a lot.

While we could take the pettiness all the way back to July when Durant decided to to leave OKC, I want to focus on just last night. 

1. OKC fans brought the Petty before the game started

One of the shirts from last night's game

OKC fans were so ready to be Russ's best friend by backing up their boy when his ex showed up. "Dude, you are so much better off without him. All he did was hold you back from what you could be. He was a cupcake anyway." This came by way off some of the pettiest shirts, signs and chants before the game even started. The first that I saw was the "KowarD" tshirts that ESPN talked about before the game (see below). When the game started, you saw more tshirts that were subtle with just a large cupcake on them. We will talk about that one later on.

2. OKC fans continued the Petty during the game

The stamina in which OKC fans brought the petty was downright impressive. Literally every time KD touched the ball, OKC fans booed. When Lebron went back to Cleveland for the first time after "The Decision", Cleveland fans didn't even have that stamina...and that's when Cleveland was Clevelanding the most. They were a special kind of pissed at Lebron and they still didn't have the staying power of the OKC fans last night. The highlight of this was probably the cupcake chant in the second quarter. Even though they were losing by 16, they still kept it going.



3. KD vs Russy in a Petty-off

There comes a point were you and the ex have to come in contact and talk loads of crap about each other's new situation. It's a lot like fireworks: It is an explosion in every sense of the word, but it is beautiful to watch. In the 3rd quarter, OKC was still trailing Golden State, but that doesn't stop revenge Russell from being petty. We see him talking all of the trash to KD while they both walk to the bench. Russ starts yelling "I'm coming!" at KD (insert your own climax joke here) while a probably confused Durant firing back with "You're still losing though." KD-1 Russ-0 on that one.

4. Andre Roberson is that friend

When things in the petty off are not going well, we always have that friend who will graciously look like a jackass to defend our honor. We love that friend, but we also hate that friend because normally they just end up making us look more pathetic. Andre Roberson is that friend. Late in the 3rd quarter, he and KD are ready to square up. They do the uncomfortable forehead touch and America held it's breath in hopes of a punch. Because it's not 1990, we don't see any punches unfortunately. As a Pacers fan I hate John Starks, but at least that dude would fight. While this is not the case for last night, the petty side of us all loved watching what became the almost fight. 

5. Golden State wins on and off the floor

Golden State ended up finishing the game last night, winning by 16 points. They won the petty-off after the game, however, in a couple of different ways. First was through Steph Curry and Draymond Green. Remember that cupcake tshirt I was talking about earlier? The shirt that OKC fans used as a not-so-subtle shot at KD? Steph and Draymond wore them in post game interviews pulling off a huge petty reversal on OKC fans. Salt in the wound to OKC fans and the Warriors did it with a huge grin on their face. The ultimate petty move.

Obviously, this was a fun game to watch outside of the pettiness. Two teams that have a ton of talent offensively and will both be contenders to win the Western Conference later this year. What made this game, however, was all of the turmoil that we knew would come with it. This is what sports entertainment is all about. We don't just want the game, we want the drama that comes with it. We love a great storyline and this certainly delivered that.