OAKLAND – It was the second time Kevin Durant played against his former team, but boy did it feel like the first time.
Back in early November – and only Durant’s fifth regular-season game in a Warriors jersey – Golden State’s big free agent acquisition played a masterful game against his former team. Durant went for 39 points on 7-11 from long range in 31 minutes. It was a statement game that seemed to complete Durant’s transformation from a lovable MVP on a small-market team to a major cog in a so-called ‘Super Team’ of villains.
Wednesday night was more of the same.
Durant turned in an insanely efficient stat line, leading all scorers with 40 points on just 16 field goal attempts (13-of-16). In doing so, he became the first player in franchise history to score at least 40 points on 16 shots or fewer since the shot clock era.
Durant’s had only three missed shots on the night: A 3-point attempt, a buzzer-beating half-court heave, and a dunk that bounced so hard off the back of the rim it almost rolled to the Thunder bench on the other side of the court:
Yeah … this was not what Kevin Durant had in mind. His dunk attempt fails, and the ball goes flying past half court. #GSWvsOKC pic.twitter.com/65uQbT3OjV
— Chat Sports (@ChatSports) January 19, 2017
Another sequence of note happened in the 3rd quarter with the Warriors nursing a five point lead. Russell Westbrook charged down the lane, blowing by Anderson Varejao and hammering home a dunk past Durant who slid over to help from the weak side.
Durant immediately started running down the court in the opposite direction, called for the ball, and nailed a three feet away from the Thunder bench.
Russell Westbrook throws it down and stares down Kevin Durant! ??pic.twitter.com/mlo3Onv6w1
— NBA Updates Ⓜ️ (@MySportsRumor) January 19, 2017
After the game reporters asked Durant about his missed dunk, his exchange with Westbrook, and why he thinks he plays so well against his former team. For more postgame video from Oracle Arena CLICK HERE.