Listing Kevin Durant's 3 highest scoring games during his MVP winning season
Effortless scoring is synonymous with Kevin Durant. With a 6 foot 10-inch build, the Brooklyn Nets forward is a tough cover for even the most elite defenders in the league. Through 14 active seasons, Durant has put up a total of 24,340 career points.
Kevin Durant has missed just one game in the 2021-22 season, averaging a league-high 28.6 points per game. The Brooklyn Nets are in second place in the Eastern Conference standings, losing just 5 of their 17 played games.
Kevin Durant’s explosive start to the season has rightly put him in MVP discussions. But is it too early to be looking into that? Well, for perspective let’s look at his scoring numbers from his 2013-14 MVP season. Wearing the Oklahoma City Thunder colors for the 2013-14 season, Durant averaged 28.2 points after the first 16 games.
Let’s now look at his top three scoring games from his MVP season.
#3 vs. Minnesota Timberwolves – 48 points
On Jan 4th, 2014, Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City faced off against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Durant started the game slow, missing all his shots from deep in the first half. He recorded 16 points at the end of the second quarter.
The day I really witnessed how much of a cheat code Kevin Durant is 🤦🏽♂️ Such an elite bump (2014)
(📺 FULL): youtu.be/WoFDzUzJJX0 https://t.co/xfDT9yPdJn
Kevin Durant came out a different person in the second half, scoring an efficient 68.8% from the field. Showing everyone the closer that he is, 23 of his 32 second-half points came in the fourth quarter, riding the Oklahoma City Thunder to a narrow 115-111 come-back win. To go along with his scoring, he grabbed 7 rebounds and dished 7 assists, playing an all-round game.
#2 vs. Toronto Raptors – 51 points
On March 21st, 2014, the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Toronto Raptors in a nail-biting double overtime contest. Kevin Durant made 7 three-pointers including the clutch game-winning three, leaving just 2 seconds on the clock. The Thunder won the match-up 119-118, taking their winning streak to three games.
"You the real MVP." ✊
#OTD in 2014, Kevin Durant gave a special shoutout to his mother during his MVP speech. https://t.co/sNvRwtqGIA
Kevin Durant spent 52 minutes on the court and recorded 51 points, 12 rebounds and 7 assists, leading the Thunder to a statement victory. It was Durant’s second game of the season scoring 50 points or more.
#1 vs. Golden State Warriors – 54 points
On Jan 17th, 2014, the Golden State Warriors made the trip to Chesapeake Energy Arena to face-off with the Oklahoma City Thunder. From the opening tip, it was evident that Kevin Durant was going to have a big night. Durant played the entire first quarter making 7 of his 8 field goal attempts. He had an answer to every deep shot the splash brothers made.
Kevin Durant’s 2014 MVP Season
Per Game:
32 PTS - 50.3/39.1/87.3
7.4 TRB
5.5 AST
1.3 STL
0.7 BLK
.635 TS%
.560 eFG%
27 Games with 35+ PTS
14 Games with 40+ PTS
Season High 54 PTS - 67.9/55.6/84.6 https://t.co/bYvQMkLo5J
At half-time, Kevin Durant had put up 29 points on 78.6% shooting from the field. He continued his shooting form in the second half, taking his total to a season-high 54 points on 19 made field goals. The Golden State Warriors’ duo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson put up a combined 63 points, but the Oklahoma City Thunder took the win in a high scoring contest – 127-121.