1. Kevin Durant Now 'On A Whole Other Level'
OKLAHOMA CITY -- It only took three minutes for Kevin Durant to go from screaming mad to laughing hysterically.
With 3:15 left, Durant was called for an iffy charge as the Oklahoma City Thunder trailed the Portland Trail Blazers 93-90. He walked to the sideline, yelled an unprintable word, slammed his hand on the scorer's table and was hit with a technical foul.
After that: 11 points on 4-of-4 shooting, including three dagger 3-pointers, one after another to put the Blazers away 105-97.
"The way he was playing, he probably could have scored on Jesus," said Blazers guard Mo Williams.
After the final 3, a second straight walk-up bomb from the top of the key in Nicolas Batum's face, Durant hopped his way back to the Thunder's bench flashing a thousand-watt smile. All it took to turn that frown upside down was 46 points on 17-for-25 shooting, which included 5-of-6 for 14 points in the fourth quarter.
"I'm just having fun out there. I'm blessed to play this game," Durant said. "So every moment I'm on the court is fun for me no matter how the game's going. When you play this game and you look to the bench and you see your teammates so happy for you, all I can do is smile because I know they're genuinely happy for me, for the team. It's a great feeling when you have a group of brothers supporting you no matter what, so that's what I'm smiling for."
It also was a little retribution for the last time Portland visited OKC. On New Year's Eve, a Westbrook-less Thunder led going into the fourth quarter as Durant sat upon 36 on 12-for-21 shooting entering the final frame. The last 12 minutes he went 0-for-5 and scored a single point as the Thunder blew a 16-point lead.
On Tuesday night, with 32 on 12-for-19 shooting after three, Durant wasn't going down like that again.
"There's no question we're seeing an amazing player develop in front of our eyes," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "That's one of the big reasons why I started wearing my glasses during the game, so I can see it. I didn't miss the 54-point night and I didn't miss tonight."
The other thing Brooks might not have believed had he not been wearing his specs: Kendrick Perkins' 15-foot baseline dagger with 90 seconds left. With the best offensive player in the world cooking, it was Perkins, yes, Perkins, who was taking a shot in a critical moment.
"To hit a huge shot like that, especially a jump shot, a lot of people I heard screaming 'no' when he shot it, but he had so much confidence in himself, and we had confidence in him," Durant said. "That was a huge shot. He played hard defense all game and to see him get rewarded with that was pretty refreshing. I'll ride with Perk until the wheels fall off. I'm glad he hit that shot."
Durant's fourth-quarter barrage is what makes "SportsCenter," but Perkins' final-frame defense was equally as critical. The much-maligned Thunder big man saved two points swatting an open Damian Lillard layup, picked off an inbounds pass, and held LaMarcus Aldridge to just 1-of-9 shooting in the fourth.
"I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but I'm pretty good with chemistry," Brooks said of Perkins. "And that's what he brings."
Durant though? He brings it all, and then some. He's always had that golden scoring touch, an innate ability to keep the scoreboard moving with a devastating silence. But the way he's scoring right now is loud. He's maintaining his efficient mindset, putting up 130 points on just 68 shots the past three games, but there are bursts of offense that send eyeballs flying out of heads and jaws to the floor. When Durant lets it fly right now, it almost feels like there's a money-back guarantee that it'll go in.
My teammates do a great job of setting me up. It's far more than just me," Durant said. "It's a small part actually, what I do. It's more so the plays Coach calls, the screens being set, the passes being passed. I think the end result is just on me trusting in the work to knock down shots."
The way Durant tries to describe his current level of play is simple, even boring. He leaves himself laughing on the court -- his version of a shoulder shrug -- almost in disbelief at the fire that's smoldering out of his right hand. And the way he talks about it, saying he's a tiny little piece to the overall offensive puzzle, it's like Durant is unable to even comprehend what he's doing. He's averaging 30.9 points on 50-40-88 shooting splits, and is at 36.5 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists in the 14 recent games Westbrook has missed.
"I don't know, man," Perkins said, as he searched for the words to describe Durant. "I've played with some pretty good players, but what he is doing right now is on a whole other level."
Royce Young writes about the NBA at Daily Thunder, part of the TrueHoop Network.
Dimes past: Jan. 1 | 2 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 19 | 20
Royce Young
ESPN Staff Writer- Covers the Oklahoma City Thunder for ESPN.com
 | 112 | 97 |  |
MVP: On a starting lineup that was extremely effective, Ricky Rubio was the orchestrator of Minnesota's brigade. With a stat line of 11 points, 13 assists and 5 steals, Rubio was an effective distributor who had a solid night on the defensive end.
Turning point: Basically from tip-off. From the start of the game, Minnesota's starting lineup had total control of the Utah Jazz. After an extremely quick run at the start the game, Minnesota never really slowed down until the final buzzer.
That was ... Love: While Rubio directed Minnesota's offense, Love was definitely the first chair of the band. With a near triple-double of 19 points, 13 boards and 8 assists, Love continues to showcase his MVP-esque skills.
 | 90 | 101 |  |
MVP: This is all you need to know about Andray Blatche's performance (18 points). Midway through the fourth quarter, he posterized Kyle O'Quinn, then drilled a left corner 3-pointer on the ensuing possession. A Blatchian display of brilliance.
Defining moment: It was a tight game in the first half, but the Nets' defense hunkered down in the third quarter and held the Magic to 3-for-21 shooting from the floor (14.3 percent). That allowed Brooklyn to blow the game wide-open.
That was ... payback: At the start of the season, Orlando clobbered the Nets (107-86) when they were still fresh and new. Now that Brooklyn is playing well, they repaid the favor by dismantling the Magic and extending their record to 8-1 in 2014.
 | 86 | 93 |  |
MVP: The Heat nearly went on autopilot too long again, but LeBron James took a beating around the basket on the last few possessions, scoring the last five of his game-high 29 points at the free throw line to secure the win.
LVP: It's unfair to expect much from Rajon Rondo at this point, and going up against Miami proved to be too much for him. He never looked comfortable and finished 0-for-8 from the floor with one point, five rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes.
X factor: Chris Andersen grabbed three offensive rebounds, and all three led to enormous putback dunks. The Celtics outrebounded the Heat 17-7 on the offensive glass, but Andersen's work was essential to Miami's win.
 | 97 | 105 |  |
MVP: Kevin Durant continues his mind-blowing stretch, this time pouring in a game-high 46 points while drilling 6-of-7 from behind the arc. It was his fourth 40-plus point outburst during the month of January.
Turning point: Down five points with 3:45 to play, Durant was whistled for a charge. He disagreed and pounded on the scorer's table in frustration, earning a technical foul. Angry and energized, he scored five straight Thunder points to tie the game. The Thunder did not trail again.
X factor: Playing with a splint on an injured finger, Portland's Nicolas Batum was hesitant. In 35 minutes, he made one of just four attempts to finish with three points.
 | 114 | 97 |  |
MVP: Rudy Gay absolutely lit up the box score, scoring 41 points on just 25 shots, while also grabbing eight boards and dishing five dimes. Gay's critics often highlight his inefficiency, but that wasn't the case Tuesday night, as he took what the defense gave him and got his shots within the flow of the offense.
LVP: Greg Stiemsma started the first quarter and the third quarter, and it is no coincidence that Sacramento built and extended leads whenever he was in the game. Sacramento didn't even bother covering him on one end, and on the other end Stiemsma was the hole in the doughnut that was the Pelicans' defense.
Turning point: The Pelicans went on a big run at the end of the first half that cut the Kings 23-point lead all the way down to eight. Sacramento responded by coming out of halftime with a ton of energy and that resulted in a 14-4 run. The Pelicans never got the lead into single digits again.
3. Tuesday's Best
Kevin Durant, Thunder: Durant scored 11 of his 46 points in the final 3:23 to help the Thunder beat the Trail Blazers 105-97. Durant has scored at least 30 points for eight consecutive games, the longest such streak of his career.
4. Tuesday's Worst
Rajon Rondo, Celtics:
In his third game back, Rondo had double-teams to contend with against the Heat. He finished the night with one point and went 0-for-8 from the field in the 93-86 loss to Miami.
8. The Unstoppable Rudy Gay
9. Stat Check
Kevin Durant, with 46 points in Tuesday night's win against the Trail Blazers, has scored at least 45 points four times in his last 10 games. The only other players in the past 25 years with four (or more) 45-point performances in a 10-game span of a season are Kobe Bryant (many times, most recently in March-April 2007) and Bernard King (during the 1990-91 season).
Durant has scored 383 points over his last 10 games, the highest 10-game total in any season since Bryant scored 396 points in a 10-game stretch late in the 2006-07 campaign.
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