Kevin Durant has found himself at the center of more "burner" account accusations, the latest that swirled on social media while the Houston Rockets standout played in his 16th NBA All-Star Game on Sunday.

The 37-year-old's alleged to be behind direct messages from an anonymous account that criticized players and coaches he's accompanied during a career that's seen him win two titles and one league MVP award.

"I know you gotta ask these questions, but I’m not here to get into Twitter nonsense,” Durant told reporters after Houston’s practice on Wednesday. "I'm just here to focus on the season, keep it pushing. But I get you have to ask those questions.

Durant added: "My teammates know what it is. We’ve been locked in the whole season. ... We had a great practice today, looking forward to this road trip."

At the moment, there's no evidence that actually links these critical comments to Durant. Still, social media ran rampant with the theory, circulating screenshots of an anonymous user who, among other things, blamed Rockets All-Star center Alperen Şengün for his defense, said that they couldn't trust forward Jabari Smith Jr. to make a shot or get a stop and took a dig at former Phoenix Suns star teammate Devin Booker.

Durant is quick to quip, confront and discuss with everyday social media users from his own verified account, which currently has 19.3 million followers. He isn't afraid to stir the pot online or engage with casual fans. Many love him for that kind of engagement, which he willingly offers and most NBA stars don't.

Durant was asked at this year's All-Star Weekend media availability on Saturday if he'd rather give up video games or Twitter, now known as X, for the rest of his life.

"I'm gonna go Twitter," Durant said before continuing jokingly, "because they don't deserve to hear this God-level-like talk I'm giving to them. They take it for granted."

But Durant has used burner accounts before.

In 2017, Durant posted in the third-person from his personal account, throwing shade on the Oklahoma City Thunder and then-head coach Billy Donovan while explaining his decision from the previous year to leave the team that drafted him for the Golden State Warriors, a Western Conference foe and the league's crown jewel at the time.

Durant owned his mistake and apologized for it in the aftermath of the social media storm he caused.

In 2019, according to The Athletic, Durant said in an interview on ESPN's "The Boardroom" that he used anonymous accounts as a way to speak out and dodge the notoriety that's often impossible to hide from as an NBA player.

Durant is playing in his 18th NBA season. He's played for five franchises.

Now with the Rockets, he's still among the best in the league. He's shooting above 50% from the field and north of 40% from 3. His 25.8 points per game are tops on the team.

While fourth in the West, the 33-20 Rockets will need a strong push to grab the No. 2 seed like they did ahead of last year's playoffs.

Durant's trying to tune out the noise, even if it's once again loud and scrutinizing his social-media presence.

On Saturday night, No. 6 LSU was on the brink of taking down No. 3 South Carolina for the first time since January 2012. The Tigers have authored three 30-win seasons since, most notably winning their first national championship in 2023.

They are among the sport's elite under head coach Kim Mulkey.

But her LSU teams have yet to beat Dawn Staley's South Carolina, a program that's become a beacon of consistency at the highest level.

So when Flau'jae Johnson was at the free-throw line with less than a minute left and a chance to finally put the Tigers ahead in a second half that saw them pull within one point six times, the more than 13,000 fans inside Pete Maravich Assembly Center could feel a monumental win coming.

Instead, Staley made history. 

Johnson, who stacked seven points and four offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter, missed both of her attempts at the charity stripe, and, after a clutch Madina Okot basket, South Carolina iced the game at the line, leaving Baton Rouge with a 79-72 victory, Dawn Staley's 500th win as Gamecocks head coach.

South Carolina (25-2, 11-1 SEC) has now won 18 straight games against LSU (22-4, 8-4), a streak that dates back 14 years.

The Gamecocks were paced by Tessa Johnson's 21 points. The junior guard made four of her five 3-point attempts and clocked out as the first South Carolina player to post back-to-back 20-point games versus AP top-10 opponents since now-Indiana Fever center Aliyah Boston accomplished that feat during the 2019-20 campaign.

Of Johnson's 21 points, though, 16 came in the first half. The Tigers did everything they could down the stretch to keep the ball away from her.

Raven Johnson, on the other hand, had the rock when it mattered most. After LSU's Flau'jae Johnson failed to capitalize on her potential go-ahead free throw attempts, Raven drove and muscled a pass to Okot that set her up for her bank shot that helped seal the Gamecock's victory, their sixth over a top-25 opponent this season. Raven's six assists paired with her career-high 19 points. Okot turned yet another double-double, this one resulting in 12 points and 17 rebounds.

Flau'jae Johnson gave the Tigers a jolt in the fourth quarter. There was one sequence where she scored or assisted on seven of her team's nine points, as LSU continued to flirt with reclaiming the lead.

The Tigers found themselves down by as many as eight points in the third quarter. An 11-4 run, boosted by a pair of jumpers from freshman Bella Hines, nearly dug them out of that hole completely. 

Foul trouble was an issue for South Carolina in the fourth quarter. LSU was in the bonus with 5:48 to go, but Mulkey's crew was just 14 of 23, or 60.9%, at the free-throw line Saturday.

The Tigers also struggled from beyond the arc, making a mere two of their 12 long-range attempts. Offensive rebounding, points off turnovers and paint points kept LSU alive. 

Johnson got a good look from 3 on a shot that would have tied the game with about 20 ticks on the clock. She was off, and the the Gamecocks' win streak against LSU was still on.

After the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers were both fined six figures for "overt" tanking, NBA commissioner Adam Silver told reporters two days later during All-Star Weekend in Inglewood, California, that the league's observed tanking behavior this season that's worse than it's seen in recent memory.

That's what led to those hefty fines, Silver said at the podium on Saturday. 

Silver was later asked if more severe punishments, such as those that would take away draft picks, could be levied in response to purposeful losing.

"There is talk about every possible remedy now to stop this behavior," Silver emphasized.

For now, he believes the fines will send a message.

"We're going to be looking more closely at the totality of all the circumstances this season in terms of teams' behavior and very intentionally wanted teams to be on notice," he said. 

This story is being updated.

The Winter Games have begun in Italy. From the rink to the slopes, a new generation of stars has emerged to chase gold. We’ll keep you connected to all of the thrilling moments and top stories as we track the medal race each day of the Games.

Team USA didn't add a medal to its count of 14 on Friday, but it's hoping there will be lots of love to go around on Valentine's Day when the Americans will take their latest shot at the podium.

Here are the top five things to watch on Saturday at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics:

1. Team USA men's hockey takes on Denmark as group play continues

The Americans' 5-1 victory over Latvia in the teams' opening match of group play was far closer than the score suggests — at least initially. It was 1-1 midway through the second period, and then Colorado Avalanche center Brock Nelson lit the lamp and took off the lid, jumpstarting a string of goals that put the Latvian's successful first-period challenges in the rear-view mirror. Nelson starred on the U.S.' fourth line. He finished with two goals and could have two more, had one not been disallowed because of goalie interference and had another of his shots not ringed off the pipe. Next up in Group C for Team USA is a Denmark squad that dropped its group-play opener to Germany 3-1. Oscar Fisker Mølgaard, who made his NHL debut with the Seattle Kraken earlier this season, scored the Danes' lone goal in that matchup. Without current NHL blueliners, the Danish are in for a tall task defending a loaded American offense.

2. Jordan Stolz seeks another speedskating gold medal, this time in the 500 meters

Jordan Stolz is the future of U.S. speedskating. He's also the man of the moment. The 21-year-old Kewaskum, Wisconsin, native won gold in the first of his four events at this year's Games, taking first place in the 1,000 meters with a time of 1:06.28 that broke a 24-year-old Olympic record. Now he'll be taking part in the 500 meters. He's once again the favorite, but he's not necessarily a lock for gold. While he's responsible for five track records in the distance around the world, and came within less than a tenth of a second of the event's world-record time (33.61) in 2024, he'll face stiff competition from the Netherlands' Jenning de Boo and Poland's Damian Żurek, the latter of whom beat Stolz in the 500 in Germany during a World Cup event in late January. If Stolz wins gold Saturday, his Olympic journey, inspired by Apolo Anton Ohno, will continue to be compared to that of another Wisconsinite, Eric Heiden, who piled up five gold medals at the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980.

3. Cory Thiesse, U.S. women's curling riding high after monumental win over Canada

U.S. curling had something to celebrate on Friday, as the American women defeated Canada for the first time since women's curling was introduced to the Olympics in 1998. Team USA is now 2-1 in round-robin competition, with its lone loss coming against Sweden. Cory Thiesse is enjoying quite the Olympics. She's part of the women's team and already has a silver medal from mixed doubles competition. She and her teammates will face off against 0-2 Japan on Saturday.

While the American men had beaten Canada before — notably in the 2018 Olympic final — they dropped to 1-2 in this year's round-robin action with a loss to the Canadians on Friday. The U.S. men's team consists of four 20-somethings and alternate Rich Ruohonen, a 54-year-old personal injury lawyer. After subbing in during Team USA's loss to Switzerland on Thursday, Ruohonen became the oldest American to ever compete at a Winter Olympics. He and his crew will take on 2-1 Germany on Saturday.

By the way, have you been wondering how those Olympic curling stones are made? Here's the answer.

4. Dual moguls makes Olympic debut, and Team USA could find the podium in the Games' new event

Dual moguls has arrived at the Olympics. Skiers will go head-to-head on parallel moguls courses and, as usual, will be judged on their form, air and time. Americans cleaned up in this season's only World Cup dual moguls event, with Jaelin Kauf, Liz Lemley and Tess Johnson finishing first, second and third, respectively. The U.S.' Olivia Giaccio was fourth. Lemley and Kauf went 1-2 in the traditional moguls event earlier this week. Kauf won five of her seven World Cup dual moguls events last season. Of course, Australia's Jakara Anthony will be eager to give the U.S. skiers a run for their money, particularly after her disappointing moguls final.

5. Slovenia's Domen Prevc could win another ski jumping gold

This year's Olympics began with more controversy surrounding ski jumping, a sport that has a track record of cheating. Ski jumpers were alleged to have injected their penises with hyaluronic acid in an attempt to get bigger suits that would help increase the length of their jumps, and World Anti-Doping Agency president Witold Bańka said he'd investigate. That sparked conversation about a slew of events that are decided by the smallest of measurements. One of those events is the men's large hill, and its final is on tap. While Norway has won the most gold medals in Olympic ski jumping history, a Slovenian could finish first on Saturday. Domen Prevc is the favorite to win gold despite placing sixth in the individual normal hill event. But he and his sister, Nika, helped Slovenia earn a title in mixed team normal hill earlier this week. Domen will go for gold again on Saturday, this time with hopes of attaining the honor in an individual event.

Olympics schedule for Saturday, Feb. 14 (Day 8)

Alpine Skiing

Giant slalom

• 4 a.m.: Men’s run 1 (USA Network)

• 7:20 a.m.: Men’s run 2 (NBC coverage begins at 7:30 a.m.)🏅

Biathlon

7.5 kilometer sprint

• 8:45 a.m.: Women's final (NBC)🏅

Cross-Country Skiing

Relay

• 6 a.m.: Women’s final (USA Network)🏅

Curling

Women's round-robin

• 3:05 a.m.: Great Britain vs. Canada (airs at 7:30 a.m. on USA Network), Italy vs. China (airs at 8:30 a.m. on CNBC), Switzerland vs. Japan

• 1:05 p.m.: Canada vs. Switzerland, Japan vs. USA (airs at 5:30 p.m. on CNBC), South Korea vs. Denmark, Italy vs. Sweden (airs at 8 p.m. on CNBC)

Men's round-robin

• 8:05 a.m.: Czechia-Great Britain, Sweden-China, Switzerland-Canada, Germany-USA (airs at 1 p.m. on USA Network)

Freestyle Skiing

Dual moguls

• 4:30 a.m.: Women’s finals (USA Network coverage begins at 4:40 a.m.)🏅

Big air

• 1:30 p.m.: Women's qualifying

Hockey

Men's pool play

• 6:10 a.m.: Sweden-Slovakia, Germany-Latvia

• 10:40 a.m.: Finland-Italy (USA Network)

• 3:10 p.m.: USA-Denmark (USA Network)

Women's quarterfinals

• 10:40 a.m.: Teams TBD (CNBC)

• 3:10 p.m.: Teams TBD (CNBC)

Short Track

• 2:15 p.m.: Women’s 1000m qualifying, women’s 3000m relay semifinals, men’s 1500m final 🏅

Skeleton

• 12 p.m.: Women's runs 3, 4 (NBC will air run 3 live; runs 3 and 4 will air on USA Network at 5:30 p.m.)🏅

Ski Jumping

Large hill

11:30 a.m.: Men’s final (airs at 1 p.m. on USA Network)🏅

Speed Skating

Team pursuit

• 4 a.m.: Women’s qualifying (USA Network)

500 meters

• 11 a.m.: Men's final (NBC)🏅

Canada men's curling remained undefeated in round-robin competition Friday during the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, but only after tension overheated on the ice.

In the ninth end of an 8-6 Canadien victory over 2022 Olympic champion Sweden, which is now a ghastly 0-3 in its gold-medal defense, Swedish third Oskar Eriksson levied a serious cheating allegation.

He did so against Canadian third Marc Kennedy, whom Eriksson accused of double-touching stones after releasing them at the hog line.

"I haven’t done it once,” Kennedy said. “You can f*** off." 

Eriksson then asked, "You haven't done it once?"

An impassioned Kennedy reiterated while pointing toward himself, "I haven't done it once."

Calmly, Eriksson said back, "I'll show you a video after the game."

The heated back-and-forth continued, with Kennedy hurling more profanities Eriksson's way.

As former competitive curler and current CBC Olympics analyst John Cullen explained on X during the match, touching the back of the stone after letting it go is technically against the rules.

But Cullen noted that it'd likely take an obvious double-touching for action to be taken by officials.

By rule, a double touch prior the hog line — the boundary before which the thrower must release the stone for it to be considered in play — isn't considered a violation.

Long before the exchange between Eriksson and Kennedy in the ninth end, Sweden asked officials to watch for Canada double-touching. Canada requested that officials also keep an eye on Swedes' deliveries.

In a statement, as reported by Reuters, World Curling said that umpires were at monitoring the hog line for three ends after the issue was first brought up.

"There were no hog line violations or retouches of the stone during the observation," the statement said, per Reuters.

Kennedy told the National Post afterward that playing the Swedes is a battle and that the teams have quite a bit of history that goes back several years.

"I have a ton of respect for Oskar Eriksson," he said, per the National Post. "He’s one of the best players to ever play. I just told him … I would never accuse you of cheating. I’ve been on tour for 25 years. He pulled a hog line official on us to make sure we weren’t double-touching. The hog line official was there ... never said a thing, and he’s still talking about it in the ninth end."

Swedish skip Niklas Edin was disappointed the quarrel took place. 

"We're all super good friends out there," he said, per Reuters.

"We've known them for 20 years. And it's [rule violations] happened many times before, so it's just sad that it gets to heated discussions on the ice instead of just curling, according to the rulebooks, but it's what it is."