MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant picked up his 16th technical foul during the first quarter of Wednesday's regular-season finale against the Memphis Grizzlies, but he will not be suspended because the amount of technical fouls does not carry over into the postseason.
The technical foul was called with 9:39 left in the first quarter, leaving both Durant and Warriors coach Steve Kerr perplexed as to why referee Kane Fitzgerald blew the whistle.
"[Fitzgerald] said I bumped into him after I was walking back to the scorer's table," Durant explained after the game. "I did bump into him, but it wasn't intentionally, and I was going to wipe my feet off. He thought I was following him to the scorer's table. But you guys see I wipe my foot off after every stop of play.
"So, it was miscommunication; we talked about it and said he was going to look at it. I'm sure he's going to send it in to the league to get that rescinded."
After the technical foul was initially called, Kerr immediately turned to Warriors senior vice president of communications Raymond Ridder sitting courtside and asked, "Is he going to get suspended?" Ridder shook his head no, giving Kerr and the Warriors peace of mind heading into Game 1 of the postseason this weekend.
Durant, along with Kerr, spent the ensuing timeout in a long discussion with Fitzgerald about why the technical foul was called. Durant and Fitzgerald had a cordial back-and-forth, but Durant clearly was frustrated that the T was called in the first place.
Durant said he was never concerned about a possible suspension.
"I knew it starts over in the playoffs," Durant said. "And I kind of figured [Fitzgerald] would rescind that one anyway, so I wasn't too nervous."
Durant, who sat out Tuesday's win at the New Orleans Pelicans because of the flu, finished with 21 points and six assists in 18 minutes against the Grizzles.
The Warriors lost 132-117 and finished the regular season at 57-25, the best record in the Western Conference. They will begin a first-round playoff series this weekend at home against the LA Clippers.