Listing Kevin Durant's Top 3 games in the NBA playoffs based on field goals
Kevin Durant is playing in his 14th season, and the Brooklyn Nets' superstar is looking to win his fifth scoring title and carry his team to the NBA Finals.
Durant leads the NBA with 29.8 points per game, which would be the third-highest average of his entire career, at age 33. Moreover, he is putting up a 51/36/89 shooting split, which shows how effective he is as a scorer at the world's greatest basketball level.
Of course, his Nets have been dealing with the health and safety protocols as much as any other team, while also having the Kyrie Irving situation, although he is at least playing away games.
Kevin Durant's Top 3 games in the playoffs based on field goals made
Still, Durant's scoring prowess and his greatness have the Nets (25-14) second in the East, even though the team is 4-6 in its last 10 games. The Nets' competitiveness has Durant second on NBA.com's MVP ladder, behind Milwaukee's antetokounmpo" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Brooklyn is expected to reach the playoffs and to be among the favorites in the East, alongside the reigning champion Milwaukee Bucks.
In that case, Durant's greatness, skill and clutchness will need to be sharp, and he's shown he can produce high numbers in the biggest moments.
This article takes a look at KD's top three games in the playoffs in terms of field goals.
No. 3: 15, achieved five times in the playoffs
Kevin Durant has made 15 field goals or more in the playoffs seven times throughout his career (151 games played). In five of those, he made exactly 15 field goals five times, four during his stint with the Golden State Warriors and once with the Brooklyn Nets.
The first of those games came on May 6, 2017, during Game 3 of the Warriors' second-round sweep of the Utah Jazz. He finished with 38 points. The second came a year later, on May 6, 2018, during another 38-point outing in the second round of the postseason against the New Orleans Pelicans.
In Game 3 of the 2018 Finals, Durant put up 43 points against the Cleveland Cavaliers and made 15 field goals to lead the Warriors to victory. In Game 6 of the 2019 first round, Durant put up his playoff career-high against the LA Clippers with a 50-point outing on 15-of-26 shooting.
The fifth came in the second round of the 2021 postseason against the Milwaukee Bucks. Durant had one of his best series individually, and put up a 32-point effort in a Game 6 loss in which he made 15 of his 30 shots.
No. 2: 16, 2021 playoffs | second round | Game 5
In the same series against the Milwaukee Bucks, Durant had some of his greatest single-game playoff performances, and one of the best ever by any player.
In Game 5, with the series tied at two and the Milwaukee Bucks having a fast start to the game, Durant had to dig deep and put up a performance for the ages. He guided the Nets' comeback win with 49 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists, while playing every minute.
He was tremendously efficient, hitting 16 of his 23 shots, including 4 of 9 3-point shots, and going 13 of 16 from the free-throw line. Moreover, he added three steals and two blocks.
No. 1: 17, 2021 playoffs | second round | Game 7
With the Milwaukee Bucks forcing a Game 7 in the Eastern Conference semifinals last season, Durant was the Nets' hope of keeping the playoff run alive.
In a series in which the Nets had to endure James Harden and Kyrie Irving missing games, Durant understood the task and put the team on his back. Although it was not enough, he had a unique Game 7 performance, with 48 points in 53 minutes, along with nine rebounds and six assists.
Moreover, he made 17 of his 36 shots, including a game-tying two-pointer at the end of regulation that was intended as a 3-pointer that would've sealed the series in Brooklyn's favor, but Durant's shoe was just over the 3-point line.
Milwaukee took a four-point win on the road to advance to the Eastern Conference finals, with Antetokounmpo having 40 points and 13 rebounds, while Khris Middleton was clutch at the end.
Also read: "As a champion, you know that we’ve never seen anybody come through our league like him" – Isiah Thomas praises Kevin Durant, says what he’s doing is historical