Kevin Durant’s season-high 44 lead Thunder past Knicks in OT
The ascendancy of Stephen Curry over the past two seasons has somewhat obscured the continued scoring excellence of Kevin Durant, at least insofar as an All-Star starter and recent MVP can lack attention. Yet Durant has bounced back from his 2014-15 foot surgeries and reached his usually fine form. He entered Tuesday’s game against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden averaging 26.6 ppg on 50.7 percent shooting, which would rank as his third-best mark from the field for his career.
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However, what Durant did not come to NYC boasting many big scoring nights in 2015-16. He changed that with a season-high 44 points vs. the Knicks, going 12-of-26 from the field and 16-of-18 from the line. Those points mattered, too — a mid-range jumper with 16 seconds remaining in regulation forced overtime and four free throws in the final 24 seconds of OT helped cinch OKC’s 128-122 win.
The new season-best is just Durant’s second game of more than 34 points this season, joining the 43 he put up against the Orlando Magic in double overtime way back on October 30. That’s a low total for someone who scored at least 35 in three of his 27 games last season, which was itself well off the absurd pace of 27 such games he had in his MVP campaign of 2013-14.
However, it’s hard to watch Durant from game to game without thinking that he could put up those kinds of gaudy single-game numbers if he chose. While the Thunder still rely on Durant and Russell Westbrook (30 points on 13-of-24 FG) for scoring well above all other players on the roster, the latter’s development from mere All-Star to genuine co-leading superstar and the team’s push to become more balanced has changed their offensive calculus. The fact that Durant hasn’t been especially explosive could be part of the design. He’s been good enough that no one has any reason to worry.
That’s not to say the Thunder are without problems. Though a solid ninth in points allowed per possession, Oklahoma City occasionally struggles to contain the opponent and does not necessarily register as a championship-level defensive squad. Tuesday’s game displayed some of their problems as the Knicks had five players score at least 15 points with Carmelo Anthony resting due to left knee soreness. New York shot 11-of-23 from three-point range and turned it over only nine times over the 53 minutes.
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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
