In the NBA regular season game that ended today (13th) morning Beijing time, the Nets defeated the Pistons 116-104, and Durant scored 51 points, 7 boards and 9 assists, scoring a new high in the league this season.
"Harden and Millsap are not here today, so I just think I should take more points." Kevin Durant said after the game.
How many points does it mean to take some points? The answer is: 51 points.
Even for an all-time scorer like Durant, such a game is not so common, and from this string of records we can feel how exaggerated tonight's KD is.
— 51 points is durant's Nets career high, surpassing his 49 points in the second round of the playoffs last season, and only three points away from KD's personal single-game scoring record.
— This is the eighth time in Durant's NBA career that he has scored 50+ (7 in the regular season and 1 in the playoffs).
This is only the second single-game 50+ performance in the entire league this season, and only Curry has scored 50 points in a single game, so tonight's KD has set a new season scoring record.
— It's the 10th 50+ in Nets history and the new individual scoring record for Tonight's game venue, Caesars Jr. (the previous record belonged to Griffin, who scored 50 points, and he smiled and patted KD's shoulder after the game).
"It was amazing, it wasn't an easy night, the opponents were fighting and working hard. We used different squads and it took some time to find our place and space after we came on, so we faced some challenges. But KD had 51 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal, which was incredible. Nets coach Steve Nash sighed after the game, "His leadership, his determination to keep us in the game, and his defense (it's just that way.") ”
As Nash said, what makes KD's 51 points special is that he led the team with his actions. It's a game without James Harden, the first rotation of the "bearded" season, only calculated from salary, Irving + Harden + Joe Harris + Millsap's absence means that the Nets are nearly 100 million less - just like hardened when playing rockets.
Durant knows he needs to do a little more, and the answer he gives is 16 of 31 shots, 5 of 10 three-pointers, 14 of 15 free throws, not only is the score a new high, his total shots, three-point shots and hits, free throw shots and hits are all season highs, and the line behind it is that Lao Tzu must carry the whole team tonight!
In fact, the Nets made the ideal start, KD scored 22 points in the first half, but they did not smoothly hold the lead. The first half of the second quarter of the rotation lost points, the third quarter of the single quarter 10 crazy mistakes and the supporting role collective dud, so that the Nets were still five points behind at the end of the third quarter. The entire third quarter has begun to become a drama for Durant to support the team, he shot 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting in a single quarter, and although four turnovers also hurt the team, the frequent mistakes and irons of his teammates are obviously more serious problems.
At the end of the third quarter, the broadcast duly gave such a statistic: Durant 38 points; the rest of the Nets players 48 points.
KD alone took 44 percent of the team's score, but he was furious. During that festival, everyone was sitting around KD, and he was communicating something with his teammates with a serious expression. When everyone touched their fists together to get ready to refuel, KD didn't hold out his hand. Such a Durant is not common, Nash has said before, the Nets are an extra quiet team, neither Harden nor Durant is known for the emotional encouragement of the whole team, but today's KD is different.
His anger was not the anger of blaming his teammates, but the anger of challenging the whole team, the shouting at everyone to keep up with me. So the end of the quarter began, durant did not stop! Like playing the Lone Ranger, and like playing bucks in the second round of last year's playoffs, Durant refuses to sit on the bench and watch the opportunity slip away, he wants to stay on the battlefield!
Three minutes before the start of the final quarter, Durant blocked, Durant made two free throws, Durant scored three points, Durant made two free throws, Durant assisted Cameron Thomas counterattacked, except for Thomas himself in the middle of a conversion shot, the Nets' remaining 9 points were all related to KD, and they blasted an 11-0 climax to complete the rebound. KD did not go on top of the team, but led the whole team from defense to offense, and when the leader rushed to the forefront of the front, Clarkston's defense, Mills's steal, Thomas's decisiveness, the soldiers all followed.
"It's so special to witness this performance of KD, especially when you're part of it. It's special for each of us to be personally involved. You witness all that KD has done off the field, and after seeing the effort behind him, you feel how special this performance is. "He leads us by example, he's the one who defends first and makes mistakes." ”
This is what makes KD more amazing tonight than he scored 51 points, he also has 9 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 1 steal, and in the second half, he played 29 points for 1 minute before the suspense of the loss of victory and defeat. It's a night of carrying the team on your shoulders and chasing victory, not the icing on the cake. Durant did realize at the last moment that the 50 mark was imminent, and he made a few more shots to break the mark, but it was more like a reward for himself. In the vast majority of moments, every minute of his is crucial.
People have witnessed Durant's greatness time and time again, which is why many people are saying that KD is the best player in the world at this moment, this scoring ability to ignore the environment, this determination to carry the team and the influence of defense, is unique. After this campaign, Durant's average of points per game reached 29.4 points per game, continuing to lead the NBA scoring list, and people also reopened the discussion of his and Curry's MVP battle.
But for KD, personal honor is no longer important, just as he is willing to give up scoring opportunities on the night when his teammates open fire, and the basketball star has repeatedly said: "We have only one goal, and that is to fight for the championship." ”
Wen | Kong Dexin
Edit | Fat Cat