The Thunder beat the Cavs on Thursday night while most of the country was watching the bevy of NCAA Tournament games on opening night. They were without Russell Westbrook, and while the MAvs killed them sans Russ earlier in the week, the Thunder were able to withstand the Cavs thanks largely to this season’s ostensible leader in the MVP race, Kevin Durant. Watch his crazy alley-oop and a three from way, way back.
Durant would finish with 35 points, 12-for-21 from the field, with 11 rebounds and six assists for good measure. But he also had a couple crazy plays to cap off yet another big night. Like this crazy oop from Reggie Jackson that KD had to reach way back to snag…
Then there was his three-pointer from Tulsa. KD was 3-for-8 on the night from beyond the arc, but this one was from 31 feet out as both Cavs defenders dropped back on Serge Ibaka, thinking Durant was out of range having picked up his dribble. Nope.
KD was also rocking a pair of Nike KD VI “Team Orange” with “Mama Tyler” inked with a sharpie on the upper. The orange is an homage to OKC, but also to his Texas Longhorns, who advanced past the first round with a buzzer-beater last night.
As for KD’s race against LeBron James for the 2014 NBA MVP, we’ll let Anthony Slater of the Oklahoman, make the case. While he hasn’t been playing at quite the level he reached during an epic January this year, he’s been a better player than ‘Bron in March and heading into the final month of the season:
It may not be mid-January, when Kevin Durant was snagging headlines with legendary performances and outrageous scoring totals. But of late, KD has been equally as impactful and nearly as statistically dominant. This month, he’s averaging 33.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.2 assists. And in the past two games — two solid and needed road wins — Durant has compiled 70 points, 23 rebounds, 11 assists and only one turnover. With LeBron and the Heat struggling, KD is starting to create some separation in the MVP chase. And while doing so, he’s nearing another scoring milestone. Durant’s streak of 25-plus points has hit 33 games, only seven away from Michael Jordan’s 40 — the longest in the past 50 years.
We’ll repeat: if KD continues to score above 25 points, he’ll pass MJ for consecutive games at that offensive level. Truly incredible and the biggest case yet he’s this year’s top player in the regular season. “Mama Tyler” would be proud.
Is KD the 2014 NBA MVP?
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