kevin durant career high – Incredible shot chart! (Photo: LetsGoWarriors.com Instagram account via ESPN Sportscenter broadcast)
CHESAPEAKE ENERGY ARENA, OKLAHOMA CITY, OK — Fifteen seconds of highlights tells it all:
Kevin Durant knew he had to carry his Oklahoma City Thunder on this night, as Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote:
The Thunder played Thursday night in Houston, and they had to play their back-to-back Friday without All-Star point guard Russell Westbook.
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But they still had a full complement of that one dude.
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Kevin Durant was way more than the Warriors could handle as their history of losing in Oklahoma City continued with a 127-121 defeat in front of a national TV audience and the 134th consecutive sellout crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Jimmy Durkin of the Bay Area News Group:
Durant delivered a career-high 54 points while knocking down 19 of 28 shots. He had 15 points in the fourth quarter and spent the whole night tormenting the Warriors’ defense, which struggled for the second straight game.
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“We’re a good enough defensive team to give a little better effort, fight a little harder,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said.
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It’s Golden State’s 10th straight loss to the Thunder in Oklahoma City, and the Warriors are 1-10 all-time against them at Chesapeake Energy Arena. They haven’t beaten the Thunder on their home court since the team’s first season in Oklahoma City in 2008.
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It’s the second straight game the Warriors were torched by an opposing offense after they allowed 123 points in a loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday.
Monte Poole of CSN Bay Area with the summary:
Nobody, absolutely nobody, starter or reserve, stood out on defense.
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TURNING POINT
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After a Marreese Speights jumper narrowed the margin to 108-101 with 8:07 left, the Thunder – Durant, really – took over in the fourth quarter and blew away the Warriors.
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They went on a 13-3 run, with Durant accounting for 11, to take a 121-104 lead with 4:52 left. The Warriors never threatened again.
After having some time to reflect, Poole wrote in a follow-up post:
This is going to hurt, but the last time the Warriors allowed 120 points in successive games was in March 2010. The coach was Don Nelson, a legend with a legendary indifference to defense.
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Coach Mark Jackson, by contrast, has recognized the improved D and led cheers for it. Two games do not a trend make, but it should be enough to stir the locker room and certainly is enough to annoy Jackson.
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“We’re a good enough defensive team to give a better effort and fight a little bit harder,” Jackson said. “(Durant) is a special talent. He’s a superstar basketball player and an all-time great and he made shots.
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“But 121 points for us, offensively, is enough to win ball games. That’s the disappointing part about it.”
But back to Durant, his performance was even more astounding because of this fact:
@ESPNStatsInfo Durant with 54 points on only 68 touches. Only had the ball in his hands for 3:17 all game. Crazy efficient #SportVU
— Brian Kopp (@bkoppstats) January 18, 2014
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LOST IN THE SHUFFLE: SPLASH BROTHERS
Lost in Durant’s history-making night was the fact that Stephen Curry scored 37 points on 6-for-10 from beyond the arc, and dished out 11 assists. However, he also committed 7 turnovers.
Klay Thompson was hot, scoring 26 points on 6-for-9 three-pointers. The #SplashBrothers were in effect while the Warriors were still in the game.
JORDAN CRAWFORD WATCH
New players Jordan Crawford and MarShon Brooks, acquired via trade Wednesday, made their debuts for the Golden State Warriors. There was much anticipation in #DubNation prior to tipoff, as Crawford stepped off the team bus:
Crawford scored 8 points and played well as the immediate backup point guard to Curry, although he made a couple fouls when the Warriors were already in bonus. Brooks got into the game when OKC had basically already won. He scored 4 points, the first bucket of which happened to be a dunk on a broken play.
SIGHTS & SOUNDS
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