1. Why Durant Won't Cook Up One More Dish
OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durant leaned over, grabbing at his shorts and had the kind of look on his face like he was about to plead for his life.
Sitting on an incredible line of 41 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists, he was only one more helper away from an elusive 40-10-10 triple-double in those three categories, something that has been accomplished only 13 times since 1985-86, the last being in 2010 by LeBron James when he still played in Cleveland.
As Jeremy Lamb popped off the bench to jog to the score table Durant could see it was over for him, and he looked at coach Scott Brooks.
"One assist?" Durant said to Brooks. "I need one?"
An obsessive tracker of stats, Durant knew. Didn't matter, though. With the game in hand and his shift already well served, Durant was coming out. He was going to have to settle for a ho-hum 40-10-9, which has now happened a grand total of 21 times since 1985-86. Oh, plus a 112-100 victory over the New York Knicks, which is important too, I guess.
"It would've been cool to stay in. But whatever. We won the basketball game," Durant said. "That's all that matters. No doubt it would've been cool to get that but it's all about the W and I'm glad we won."
Durant checked out with 1:23 left and the Thunder up 13 at the time, so if he would've been going for the magical line, it would've required a bit of forcing. And obviously, that's not and has never been his style. There were opportunities for Durant to log that 10th assist in the final few minutes, but as it happens, that stat requires partnership with a teammate. First, Serge Ibaka rattled out a dunk attempt. Then Reggie Jackson caught front iron on a wide-open 3-pointer a few possessions later. And finally, Ibaka turned down a clean midrange look setup by Durant. Get one of those three plays to end in a basket, and the deed would've been done.
"I got on Serge," Durant said with a little grin. "He missed a dunk and he passed up a shot."
But when Brooks subbed him with a little more than a minute left, there wasn't a hint of dissension or disagreement on Durant's face. The game was over, his job was finished, and Durant knew it. He wanted the box score trophy to hang on his r�sum�, but he wasn't going to chase it. It was a game in which he obliterated one of his basketball peers, holding Carmelo Anthony to just 15 points on 5-19 shooting, and scoreless in the fourth quarter, reaffirming the gap that has developed between the two players.
And within that, Durant sent a slightly more subtle message about the difference in not just the players, but the organizational philosophies they play within. Just a few weeks ago, with his team up 30 entering the fourth quarter, Anthony was hunting a scoring mark, and played the first five minutes of the quarter to notch a 62-point night, setting a new Knicks record. Obviously, that number is more special than 40-10-10 and nobody should have any issue with the decision by Anthony and the Knicks to go for that, but keep this in mind: Durant also let his electric 30-point streak end at 13 games recently because he sat the entire fourth in a blowout.
"Actually, he did not [want to stay in]," Brooks said. "KD's a stat-filler. He's going to have many games, many opportunities to have a large number of points, assists and rebounds. I'm never going to worry about personal records. It's not something we do as an organization. It's great if he does accomplish them within the flow of the game. But I think you do what's right, and live with the results."
And Kevin Durant does a whole lot right, and the results rarely lie. His selflessness and team-first spirit are well documented, but as illustrated against the Knicks, he doesn't abide by that mantra on a case-by-case basis. It's a constant way of life with him and the Thunder, talking the talk, and always walking the walk.
Entering Sunday's game, Anthony held an incredible 11-1 record head-to-head with Durant. And while that number is a bit misleading (eight of those games were played in Durant's first two seasons), there's no question that much like his recent performance in Miami, Durant has been intent on resetting the narrative. The rampage he went on in January surely isn't sustainable, but he's obviously far from satisfied with himself.
Durant's elevation as not only one of the most devastating scorers the game has ever seen, but one of the most well-rounded players in the league, was on full display Sunday, showcasing the contrast in his and Anthony's games. Anthony is one of the most powerfully effective offenses forces in the league, with an array of moves and counters that makes him one of the toughest individual covers. But Durant has actively dedicated himself to being more than that, distributing and scoring on his counterpart on one end, and locking him down on the other. Durant's refusal to simply accept his scoring ability as his only basketball gift is what's really taken him from good, to truly great.
Royce Young's work appears on Daily Thunder, part of the TrueHoop Network.
Dimes past: Jan. 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | Feb. 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
Royce Young
ESPN Staff Writer- Covers the Oklahoma City Thunder for ESPN.com
2. Around the Association
 | 92 | 86 |  |
MVP: Joakim Noah, who was a dominant force on both ends of the floor. Noah ended with a solid overall line of 18 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks.
X factor: L.A.'s 18 turnovers, which resulted in 17 points for the Bulls. The Lakers' biggest ball-handlers for the game, Steve Blake and Kendall Marshall, both pitched in on that failure with five turnovers each.
Defining moment: With 30 seconds left, the Lakers trailed 88-84 and held possession. However, D.J. Augustin made a great steal inside a pick-and-roll that allowed the Bulls to ride free throws to the victory.
 | 83 | 91 |  |
MVP: Kyrie Irving. The Cavaliers' All-Star guard had some lulls offensively after a 14-point first quarter, and his defense left much to be desired, but he finished the game with 28 points, made all four of his 3-point attempts, and made a game-tying layup with 18 seconds left in regulation.
LVP: Courtney Lee. With Mike Conley Jr. out of the lineup, the Grizzlies desperately needed Lee to take pressure off of Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol. Lee wasn't up to the task, and went just 4-for-15 on the night.
Defining moment: Dion Waiters made this easy by somehow managing to end what had, frankly, been a miserable game with a flourish, as he crossed up James Johnson and threw down a vicious one-handed slam to give the Cavaliers a six-point lead with 41 seconds remaining in overtime.
 | 81 | 93 |  |
MVP: Mason Plumlee had a career-high 22 points on only 10 shots, along with 13 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks, all in only 28 minutes. Kevin Garnett played only 13 minutes thanks to the reserve's stellar play.
Defining moment: Plumlee in the second quarter. It was then that he really shined, as he scored 12 points and had dunk after dunk, the most spectacular being an alley-oop from Jason Terry.
X factor: After giving up a season-high 67 points in the first half to Detroit, Brooklyn held New Orleans to a season-low 28 points and thus led by 23. New Orleans rallied gamely in the third, but eventually ran out of steam.
 | 92 | 93 |  |
MVP: Victor Oladipo had 23 points off the bench and 13 of them in the fourth quarter.
Defining moment: Early into the fourth quarter the Magic took advantage of the Pacers' bench to bring the game close. The main highlight of this was a Victor Oladipo steal with an and -1. They managed to take the lead and never looked back.
That was ... insane: At the end of the game with 9 seconds left the Magic bounced the ball in bounds through David West's legs and turned it over. Paul George missed the follow-up shot and the Magic grabbed the rebound in an insane series of events. That's two straight wins for the Magic with insane endings.
 | 84 | 93 |  |
MVP: At first glance, Marcin Gortat's stat line may not jump out (17 points and eight rebounds), but that was enough for the Wizards center to outplay DeMarcus Cousins, who struggled his way to his 32nd double-double of the season. With Cousins' having an off night, the Kings had no answer for the Wizards' frontline.
LVP: Cousins has not been himself the past two games. On Sunday, he finished with his 19th double-double in his past 20 games, but it wasn't easy. In defeat, the Kings' starting center scored just 14 points on an inefficient 3-of-16 shooting from the field and committed four costly turnovers .
X factor: Kings' turnovers. The Kings were loose with the ball and the Wizards took full advantage. In victory, the Wizards were able to score 26 points off the Kings' 18 turnovers in victory.
 | 102 | 91 |  |
MVP: Dirk Nowitzki. The 15-year veteran continued his torrid stretch over the past few weeks, posting 20 points, five rebounds and four assists to lead Dallas to their fifth straight win overall. Over his past seven games, Nowitzki is averaging 26.8 points a contest.
LVP: Avery Bradley. The shooting guard missed Friday night's game with an ankle injury and appeared to be hampered by it in his return to action Sunday. Bradley misfired on 11 of his 13 shot attempts, and finished with a mere five points in 18 minutes of action.
That was ... encouraging: While his teammates struggled, Rajon Rondo appeared to turn another corner in his return from a torn ACL. Rondo played a season-high 37 minutes and flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 15 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds.
3. Sunday's Best
Kevin Durant, Thunder: Durant went for 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in the 112-100 win over the Knicks. Durant's dominating ways put the Thunder ahead in the West by three games over the second-place Spurs.
Sunday's Worst
Spencer Hawes, 76ers: Hawes accepts this award on behalf of his woeful teammates. In 23 minutes of court time, Hawes was scoreless on eight shots in the 123-78 trouncing by the Clippers that could have been a lot worse.
8. Return Of Chris Paul
9. Stat Check
The Clippers outscored the 76ers 46-15 in the first quarter on Sunday night. Only two games in NBA's shot-clock era (1954 to present) had a larger scoring differential at the end of the first period: the Baltimore Bullets led the Kansas City-Omaha Kings, 45-12, through 12 minutes in a game in 1972, and the Lakers owned a 40-4 lead over the Kings after one quarter in 1987.
Around the Association
| 78 |  |  | 123 |
MVP: Blake Griffin flirted with a triple-double in the first half and finished with 26 points, 11 rebounds and six assists in only 25 minutes. He has now scored 25-plus points in 11 of his past 12 games.
LVP: The NBA rulebook. Couldn't we have finished this early? The Clippers led by 56 at one point in the third quarter. If this were "White Men Can't Jump," the game would've ended after Griffin threw down his second straight windmill, alley-oop dunk in the second quarter.
That was ... uncompetitive: The 76ers never stood a chance, falling behind 13-0 right out of the gate. The Clippers led 46-15 at the end of one on their way to a franchise-record 45-point victory.
| 100 |  |  | 112 |
MVP: Kevin Durant may not like the "Slim Reaper" nickname, but it's remarkably apt. The grace and ease with which he sliced up the Knicks felt as inevitable and unstoppable as the hooded skeleton wielding a scythe. He came one assist shy of a triple double, but 41 points on 22 shots plus 10 rebounds, nine assists, a steal and two blocks is still pretty darn good.
X factor: Oklahoma City's strategy to contain Carmelo Anthony. To a man, they had the discipline to stay on the floor when he pump faked, and Scott Brooks dispatched multiple defenders from multiple angles to keep him from getting to the rim, forcing Melo into chucking a slew of bad, contested shots.
LVP: New York's defense. Whether it was their inability to contain ballhandlers on the perimeter, negotiate even a basic pick, help at the rim or rotate faster than a cotton gin when the ball was kicked to the three point line, the Knicks left Hubie Brown shaking his head in disapproval all afternoon.
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