Thunder/Mavs recap - aka the KD35 show

Kevin Durant is an All Star.  I know, big shocker there.  No one really had a doubt about it...heck, I didn't even bother to fan vote.  But to make it, you have to be a star among a league of stars, and find a way to stand out.  And in Friday night's game against the Dallas Mavericks, KD did just that.  Just as the Thunder Nation RISES, so does the brightest of our young stars.  KD went off for a season and career high 52 points in a thrilling overtime win over the Mavs, 117-114.  This wasn't an easy one; playing the Mavs seems to never be for the Thunder.  But that just makes the winning that much sweeter.


A hotly contested game that saw the Mavs come back from a double digit deficit in the 4th quarter (by putting up 33 points in that period) including a crazy game tying 3 with just 2 seconds left by O.J. Mayo.  And as great as KD is (and he IS great) even the great ones sometimes have to work hard to get it done.  When Durant's shot wasn't falling in the 4th quarter (even he claimed in the post game interview he felt like he missed "eight shots in a row") he found a way to get to the free throw line and went an astonishing 21-21 from the line for the game.  Yeah.  He went to the stripe 21 times and made ALL of them.  In fact, the Thunder as a team only attempted a total of 36 freebies.  KD probably felt like he had to help offset his not outrageous 13-31 from the field.  For KD that's an off night.    But 52 points on 31 shot attempts isn't going to get anyone's attention unless you get the W.  And that the Thunder did behind their Western Conference All Star starting forward.

Again, plenty of help from Russ, who poured in 31, with 6 boards and 6 assists.  Even with 4 turnovers to offset his offensive work, he still managed a positive +/- (+5) and KD for all his individual heroics ended up with a puzzling -1.  Thabo of course made a positive contribution by playing stellar defense; to make up for his bagel on the scoreboard, he got the coveted +11 (tops on the team Friday night).  Its not all peaches and gravy though...the Thunder gave up a huge lead in the 4th quarter after all, and allowed 6 Mavs players to get into double figures.  Among these, Mike James (recently called up from the D-League) and Vince Carter (who had 29!).  Yeah, I said Vince freaking Carter.  Dude really likes playing the Thunder let me tell you.  Every time I watch the Thunder/Mavs games, he's dialed in like its 2001 again.  But let's be real here - a win on the road is a win, regardless of how you get it.  So Scott Brooks should get after his team, and be thankful they left big D with the W.

Next up: the Denver Nuggets in the Mile High City.  Gametime is 5pm Pacific.  Do everything you can to catch the game - you never know what KD will do next.  But you can darn sure bet you'll see the #ThunderNationRISE