It Can be Done with No. 35

That’s two.


Game on.


I’m just going to type this for the next 1,400 words: Kevin Durant. I think that should summarize pretty much everything you need to know, or really, want to know. I’ve already heard and seen some saying this was the game KD took The Leap but that’s already happened. He’s leaped. He’s special. Incredible. A gift. Insane. Ridiculous. On and on, you name it, KD is it.


Game 4 was one of those games you file away and plan to call upon 15 years from now when you’re talking about KD. Regardless of what happens next in this series, Durant’s Game 4 was legendary-ish. The Thunder had blown a 15-point second half lead watching the Spurs close it to two and put the pressure on. But the Thunder put the ball, the game, the series in KD’s hands and he did what he does. Kid Clutch was Kid Closer, embracing the responsibility and excelling with ample amounts of pressure.


(Aside: Here’s how good KD was in this game: Serge Ibaka went 11-11 from the floor for a new career-high of 26 points, and it’s essentially an afterthought.)


It’s a weird thing to watch because it’s never a surprise when KD does it, but there’s that moment you realize you’re watching it happen. When it hits. Holy crap, KD’s doing it. Consider this: He was just 2-4 for 10 points in the first half. He scored 26 of his 36 in the second half. He scored 16 straight points in the fourth quarter. He went 13-20. He had eight assists, six rebounds and a single turnover in 43 minutes. In the first half as the Thunder big men unexpectedly played the best 24 minutes of their lives, Durant sat back and watched. He stayed out of the way. He knew he didn’t have to assert himself.


But as the Spurs’ grip tightened, as the series started to slip away, Durant awoke and grabbed hold of the game and wouldn’t let it go. I was just blown away by this game. I want to watch it on a loop for the next two weeks.


“I just want to be calm and composed and poised in those situations and make the right basketball play,” Durant said. “There are times when I need to pass to my teammates and times when I need to score. I just try to take it on, try not to be nervous. Sometimes it’s nerve-racking playing those games like that. But I just try to calm down and go with my instincts. On the defensive end, I want to be clutch as well.”


Scott Brooks called timeout with 6:33 left as the Spurs had whittled it back to four and that’s when Durant went on the rampage. Asked if Brooks stressed to the team that the ball needed to go to KD, Russell Westbrook said, “When teams start to make a run we gotta go to our first option and that’s Kevin.” He knew he needed to move over and it was absolutely no problem for him. He set terrific screens, played wildman defense and just did his job.


“Russell set great screens. James made great passes. I was just trying to do my job and finish it,” Durant said.


Look at the play-by-play after that Brooks timeout: Durant 17-footer, Durant seven-footer, Harden missed 3, KD and-1, KD nine-footer, KD runner, KD and-1, KD missed jumper, KD 17-footer and then Harden’s 3 set up by Durant. In that stretch from 6:33 to 1:04 where the Thunder put Game 4 away, Durant went 7-8 for 16 points.


Thing is though, it just makes it 2-2. And that’s obviously the most important thing to remember. The Thunder had to have these two and they did their job. Backs to the wall and all that crap and they answered the bell big time. They avenged the first two games in San Antonio and now have a shot in the series.


“We know this is only one step closer,” Durant said. “As people said, we did what we were supposed to do by winning at home. So we’ve just got to go down there with the mindset that we’re going to play hard every possession, play together like we’ve been playing these last few games and we’ll see what happens. We’ve just got to keep believing man. We’ll be fine.”


It’s a best-of-three and the Spurs have homecourt. Meaning that the Thunder have to win once in San Antonio. Whether it’s Game 5 or 7, the Thunder have to find a way to execute this same game away from the 18,203.