While Anthony Davis’ big Thursday night put him in a class by himself this season and last, Kevin Durant‘s scoring performance in the first half against the Warriors hasn’t been done since the ABA-NBA merger in 1976.
KD had 30 points in the half, the most he’s ever scored in the first half over the stretch of his career (he’s scored 33 in the second half a couple times). But a rolled ankle kept him from helping the Thunder try and stave off the Splash Brothers in a 114-109 Dubs win in Oakland.
“I was a little nervous,” Durant told ESPN.com’s Royce Young when he went down with rolled ankle right before the end of the half. “But I knew when I got up and started walking it felt good. So I just wanted to make sure with the X-rays everything was good.”
The injury occurred on the same right foot where KD suffered a Jones fracture that kept him out of the Thunder’s first 17 games, so it was probably smart to be overly-cautious and hold him out for the second half.
KD is hoping to play tonight against the Lakers. Before that, however, we have to talk about his 10-for-13 shooting performance in just 18 minutes last night.
KD knocked down five of his 10 field goals from beyond the three-point arc. All told, the shooting performance in such a little amount of time was one for the history books.
According to Elias Sports Bureau, Durant became the first player since the NBA-ABA merger (the dividing line many people use when looking at the NBA’s historical record) to score 30 points in under 20 minutes.
Think about that while watching KD scorch the Dubs in the first half last night…
About his historic performance shooting the ball — a designation we’re not entirely sure Durant even knows about, the Thunder sniper was decided blasé about the whole thing.
“I just made a few shots, man, to be honest,” KD said after the game. “I’ve been feeling good the last week or so. I just made a few shots today; that was the difference.”
“I JUST MADE A FEW SHOTS!”
(video via Dawk Ins)
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