NBA star Beasley shoves fan at NYC playground

CBS/AP) What's the difference between Kevin Durant and Michael Beasley?

Well, the obvious answer is Durant is the superior player, the reigning NBA scoring champion and stars on an up-and-coming playoff team. Beasley is brash and talented but is a confrontational player (on a dysfunctional Minnesota squad) who has run afoul of the law (busted for pot possession just last month).

But Durant has another edge on Beasley - he knows how to handle jeering fans.

On Thursday night, Beasley shoved a heckler in the face with his hand during a playground game - two nights after Durant silenced a heckler by ignoring him and hitting the game-winning shot.

In the second half of a summer league game at Dyckman Park in Washington Heights, Beasley was jawing back and forth with a fan who was getting on his case. Then Beasley shoved the fan's face and security intervened. A guard and teammates led the former Kansas State star away from the fan, though Beasley later shook the fan's hand.

"He put his hands on me, I didn't touch him," the heckler, Garland Quince, told the New York Post. "I was just telling him I was a Kevin Durant fan. Kevin Durant is my favorite player."

Quince said he wouldn't press charges.

Beasley's Team 914 eventually beat Durant's Team Nike 80-77, though the Oklahoma City star scored 32 points. On Monday night, Durant scored 66 points at Harlem's famous Rucker Park.

Watch: Kevin Durant scores 66 at Rucker Park

It was Durant's third game in four days in New York City summer league games.

One fan got Durant's attention and told him to go for 100. On Tuesday night, Durant followed up his night at Rucker by adding 41 points in the Pro City league at Baruch College. In that game, a fan incessantly needled Durant, calling him "baby LeBron" among other bizarre taunts.

The reigning NBA scoring leader looked dumbfounded by the comments and then nailed the game-winning three-pointer and gave his heckler a friendly goodbye wave.