Last night, Kevin Durant & The Oklahoma City Thunder put the NBA on further notice with the biggest statement game of KD's career! This was Durant's first 50 point game of his career, as he dropped a 51 point bomb on the Denver Nuggets in last night's 124-118 overtime win at home! This game had many twists and turns. Facing a halftime deficit, the Thunder roared loud and strong with a 20-0 run at the end of the second half cutting the lead down to 58-53 at the half. With KD's 20 points heading into the second half, and the way that he scored, I knew that he was going to have a stellar game. Westbrook started the third by making three straight field goals giving The Thunder a 59-58 lead. Westbrook & Durant connect for a great alley-oop giving KD 22. Durant goes on to score 30 by the end of the quarter along with Russell's 27. OKC outscored Denver 30-25 in the third quarter, which tied the game 83-83. There was a stretch in the game where the Nuggets looked like they hit a wall. Neither team went down without a fight, as the Nuggets mounted a comeback of their own to begin the 4th. The quarter starts with James Harden going 1-of-2 from the free throw line, which slightly slowed down the Thunder's momentum. Denver goes on a 10-0 run which included an Andre Miller layup, an alley-oop to Chris Andersen, and two 3-pointers from Al Harrington to give them a 93-84 lead. The fourth quarter was not only a back and forth battle, but it is also where Durant went on a rampage and ripped the Nuggets to pieces like a lion with 45 points to end the quarter. Durant also made smart shot selections, which also included making all of his 3-point shots in the 4th. KD also commanded his teammates to take on bigger roles. Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka followed the lead with 40 points, 9 assists for Westbrook and a Triple Double from Ibaka (14 pts, 15 rebounds, 11 blocks)!! Fans had signs saying "Welcome to the BLOKC Party!" Ibaka has been a blocking machine, and Westbrook put up another crazy performance, but developed better team chemistry with his All-Star teammate as well as James Harden, by creating better shots for them. The rush of momentum that Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka gave the Thunder at the end of the 4th quarter was spectacular. OKC ran the court like gang-busters, with Kevin Durant not running out of breath at all! Each key moment this quarter, from Westbrook's jump shots, Ibaka's clutch defense and KD's drives to the basket tied the game 118-118 to go into overtime, and gave the fans an extra surge of confidence! Oklahoma City fired on all cylinders, because of the brilliant play of their tag-team of KD & Westbrook. Kevin Durant delivered a Pantheon-level performance, and gave himself a stronger case for MVP. Oklahoma City outscored Denver 13-7 to win the game 124-118, which included Durant going 6-8 from the line and Westbrook's clutch 3 pointers and jumpers to put the final nail in the coffin! I have made it my choice to follow Kevin Durant even closer this season by highlighting him even more. During this time, I have been waiting for Durant to finally explode with a statement game, and I finally got it. Iceman 2.0 did not disappoint, and the way that he is developing as a player, he could surpass Gervin quickly. Oklahoma City are the hands down, "Kings of the West" at this point, but they have the fire and energy of an underdog! They have shown great leaps of progress during the pass two seasons, by taking the last two champs to the limit. In 2010, they were the Lakers' biggest threat and left me on the edge of my seat. Last season, they were the strongest opponent for the Mavericks, by taking them to 7 games. Now, there sights are set even higher: an NBA Crown. With Kevin Durant leading the way, the sky is the limit!!
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