Thunder rolls with Durant heading the storm
Jan 19th, 2010 by Aaron Hotchner
Oklahoma City 1/16/09 – Kevin Durant scorched the Heat Saturday night to the delight of a home crowd. With a performance that seemed almost effortless, he dominated the game on the offensive end, impressing even Miami’s coach. ”I can say this now because we don’t play them again, but I’m glad we don’t meet these guys again until next year,” Erik Spoelstra remarked – high praise, considering Durant had just led his Thunder teammates in dispatching the Heat 98-80.
First catching national notice as a Longhorns frosh, his sweet shooting touch led to Division 1 player of the year honors. Drafted by the Seattle Supersonics, (who became Oklahoma City Thunder’s upon moving) Durant has steadily improved each year since entering the League, though not without growing pains. Dismissed by critics as a ball-hog for taking too many shots, some concluded that his team was often better off with him on the bench. With more nights like this, Durant may have those critics eating crow & the Thunder contending for a playoff spot.
Durant posted 36 points in 37 minutes, hitting nothing but the bottom of the net on his first 13 of 14 shots. The “Durant-ula” – as the lanky & long-limbed small forward has been nicknamed by ESPN – ended the game 14 for 18 from the field, a blistering 77%. If that isn’t enough to impress you, he also snatched 10 rebounds, handed out three assists, made all three of the 3-pointers he shot, & went 5/6 from the foul line. Rookie James Harden & Jeff Green (drafted with Durant) joined in the fun with 14 points each.
The Heat came out rather lukewarm in this the last game of a long road tour. Miami’s squad was led by emerging power forward Michael Beasley, who matched his career-best scoring night with 28 points. Dwayne Wade also contributed 24 points, & became the Heat’s all time assists leader after ringing up 6 dimes on the night. Despite their scoring, & a near double-double by Heat center Jermaine O’Neal, nothing much could about a game that saw the Thunder up by double figures the entire second half.
With the loss in Oklahoma City, the Heat’s six game trip ended 3 wins to 3 losses. With one game in Miami & then 19 of the next 24 on the road, there are lots of frequent flier miles & hotel food in their future. The Thunder had lost both of their previous games to San Antonio & Dallas by one point, so this win was the best medicine for them. But with their man of the hour saying all the right things: ”You can throw away all I did. I’m just proud of how we came out and got the win.” and a team packed with young talent getting better all the time – you getting the feeling this Thunder will be making a big noise for some time to come.
Apologies to the AP for stealing some of their quotes, if they knew about it, I™m sure they™d say it was okay.