KD goes off without his Splash Bros
Coming into the game, Durant was listed as ‘probable’ with a calf injury, a position he’s unfortunately pretty familiar with this season.
He has missed eight games and has been hobbled in several more. In spite of this, Durant has not only continued to shoot well (26.3 PPG), but he’s also averaging a career-high in blocks (2.2) and his second-highest assists per game (5.2).
Durant’s shooting stats from the first half of his historic milestone game: 25 points on 9/10 shooting. Yes, that’s right; he perfectly nailed the exact amount he needed to reach the mark while only missing one shot. ONE. SHOT.
With no Splash Brothers flanking Durantula (Curry out with an ankle injury and Klay Thompson resting), it was clear before tip-off that he would have the green light, and he didn’t waste the opportunity.
Durant ended up finishing the game with 40 points on 14/18 from the field in 31 minutes in a hard-fought 125-106 loss against the L.A. Clippers behind super-sub Lou Williams‘ career-high 50 points. He also nabbed four rebounds, four assists, one block and one steal because how else could KD punctuate making history? Coming into the night, Durant, as only he can, spoke very humbly to ESPN’s Chris Haynes about nearing this feat.
"“Man, that’s some great company, and there’s so many names I never thought I’d be in the same conversation with,” Durant said. “But to know — to have it in numbers, in black and white — to know that you belong in that group is pretty special to me. I’m telling you, man, it’s never been a goal of mine to count how many points I have. That’s not why I play the game. To be under 30 and do it, that’s special to me too.”"
Durant dazzled once again with another spectacular all-around game, but, if we’re being objective here, we have to ask ourselves: was this the best 20K game ever despite the loss? After looking at the other four legends, who all have ties to KD in some fashion, you may be staying up late for a couple nights, trying to find an answer.