Kevin Durant Is Down, But Not Out
Photo via nba.com
Ever since his running mate Russell Westbrook went down with a torn meniscus early in the 2013 NBA Playoffs, Kevin Durant has vowed to do more. He has slung his wounded Oklahoma City Thunder team over his shoulder and carried them, yet he continues to feel like it’s not enough. After another heartbreaking loss to the Memphis Grizzlies last night, this time in overtime, all Durant could talk about was more, more, more.
“I’m giving everything I’ve got to my team,” he said postgame. “I’ll keep doing it however long I have to.”
It would be a fair question, though, to ask Durant what more he can do. He poured in 27 points last night. He fed a suddenly hot (and long overdue) Serge Ibaka whenever he could, sensing his smooth-shooting big man was in a groove. KD dished out seven dimes. He pulled down seven rebounds. He hit a huge pull-up three in transition to put the Thunder up by double digits in the second quarter, and when that lead had vanished in the waning moments of the fourth, he hit a layup to force five more minutes of basketball.
Despite losing their star point guard and battling a physical Memphis Grizzlies team bent on pushing them around, the Thunder have been in every single game, losing each of the last three by just six points each time. Climbing out of a 3-1 series hole will be tough, but a raucous crowd awaits Durant and company back in the friendly confines of Chesapeake Energy Arena for Game 5. Win that one and who knows what could happen? What we do know is that Durant will keep pushing himself to do more, to get his team back into series and make a return trip to the Western Conference Finals.
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Kevin Durant Is Down, But Not Out
Photo via nba.com
Ever since his running mate Russell Westbrook went down with a torn meniscus early in the 2013 NBA Playoffs, Kevin Durant has vowed to do more. He has slung his wounded Oklahoma City Thunder team over his shoulder and carried them, yet he continues to feel like it’s not enough. After another heartbreaking loss to the Memphis Grizzlies last night, this time in overtime, all Durant could talk about was more, more, more.
“I’m giving everything I’ve got to my team,” he said postgame. “I’ll keep doing it however long I have to.”
It would be a fair question, though, to ask Durant what more he can do. He poured in 27 points last night. He fed a suddenly hot (and long overdue) Serge Ibaka whenever he could, sensing his smooth-shooting big man was in a groove. KD dished out seven dimes. He pulled down seven rebounds. He hit a huge pull-up three in transition to put the Thunder up by double digits in the second quarter, and when that lead had vanished in the waning moments of the fourth, he hit a layup to force five more minutes of basketball.
Despite losing their star point guard and battling a physical Memphis Grizzlies team bent on pushing them around, the Thunder have been in every single game, losing each of the last three by just six points each time. Climbing out of a 3-1 series hole will be tough, but a raucous crowd awaits Durant and company back in the friendly confines of Chesapeake Energy Arena for Game 5. Win that one and who knows what could happen? What we do know is that Durant will keep pushing himself to do more, to get his team back into series and make a return trip to the Western Conference Finals.