Richard Jefferson gets a techincal for dunking on Kevin Durant and winking at him pic.twitter.com/TY1zs8mwDB
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) December 25, 2016
The Christmas Day game between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers has been as good and intense as advertised, but one of its strangest moments came early in the fourth quarter when Richard Jefferson was assessed a technical foul for, of all things, a wink at Kevin Durant after he dunked all over him.
Jefferson has missed every shot from the outside in this game, so he said, “To hell with launching from the corner, I’m taking it to the cup!” and slammed all over the taller and younger Durant. He can hardly be blamed for feeling himself, especially considering what gesticulations come from Draymond Green every time he makes a great play, and a wink is so innocuous that it seemed terribly excessive to give him a tech for that.
Jefferson responded in the best possible way though, going even higher and even harder for an even better poster slam on Klay Thompson minutes later. Have you ever seen a 36-year-old get this kind of air?
Cavaliers' Richard Jefferson throws down poster dunk on Warriors' Klay Thompson pic.twitter.com/KZOiHqPppv
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) December 25, 2016
We love the veteran contributions Richard Jefferson brings to the Cavs, and he is not done. Nothing gets a tight-knit squad going like an older role player showing out, and Jefferson’s monster jam, sure enough, set off a big run from Cleveland. This game has delivered.