Durant, Warriors drive past Wizards in D.C.
Golden State’s dominance against East continues with 109-101 win.
Whenever he held the ball, it seemed inevitable Warriors forward Kevin Durant would complete a highlight reel.
On one play, Durant and Stephen Curry ran a fast break that finished with Curry throwing a lob and Durant throwing down a one-handed dunk. On another, Durant stole the ball and a threw a lob seemingly out of reach only for Warriors forward Draymond Green to reach and convert on the layup. Durant performed two crossovers before pulling up for a vintage 20foot jumper.
It likely surprises no one that Durant performed this way in the Warriors’ 109101 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday. Durant usually plays prolifically (32 points, six rebounds, four assists), while showing efficiency from the field (12 of 20), 3-point range (3 of 6) and from the free-throw line (5 of 6). And since the NBA All-Star break, Durant has averaged 26.5 points on 53.8 percent shooting.
“He’s been fantastic,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said.
Durant’s latest performance bore extra significance, though.
One, Durant performed these feats before 30 students from his hometown of Seat Pleasant, Maryland. This happened a day after Durant and his Warriors teammates went to the National Museum of African American History and Culture with 40 other students from Seat Pleasant. Durant later visited Prince George County after donating $10 million to Prince George’s County Public Schools and College Track, an after-school program that helps disadvantaged students attend college with financial support and mentorship.
“It means a lot. I know they’re supporting me no matter what arena I play in,” said Durant, who surpassed Warriors guard Mitch Richmond for 40th place on the NBA’s alltime scoring list (20,526 career points). “I appreciate the support throughout my whole career.”
Two, Durant played like his usual self
nearly a year after having an unpleasant experience in the same venue. On Feb. 28, 2017, Durant hyperextended his left knee and then missed the next 19 games.
“It just felt good to get through the whole game,” Durant said. “I’m just glad we won.”
Three, Durant’s performance prompted both Kerr and Washington coach Scott Brooks to argue that Durant should have stronger consideration for the regular-season MVP award.
“We don’t talk about him being an MVP. I don’t know why,” said Brooks, who coached Durant as both an assistant (2007-08) and as head coach with the Oklahoma City Thunder (200815). “There’s five guys in the league every year that can be MVP. It’s just a matter of which guys you want to vote for.”
Warriors guard Klay Thompson said he “100 percent agrees.”
“He’s going to be a topfive guy every single year,” Kerr said. “Beyond that, there’s a lot of good candidates
and guys having great years. Kevin is obviously going to be considered every single season. He’s that good.”
Good enough to win MVP for the second time of his NBA career? Durant ranks seventh in the NBA in points (25.9) and fourth in blocks (1.91).
“I’m not in it for the awards,” Durant said. “I’m just out there to get better as a player.”
The Warriors (48-14) have higher ambitions following their victory against Washington (36-26), which marked their third straight win since the All-Star break.
“We want to try to win every game going into the playoffs,” said Thompson,
who had 13 points and helped hold Wizards guard Bradley Beal to eight points on 3-of-15 shooting. “It might be unrealistic, but it would be nice to do that. We’re right on Houston’s heels. We got a very tight race right now. So we got to try to take the lead.”
After all, the Rockets (48-13) have a slightly better winning percentage and a regular-season tiebreaker (2-1).
“You have to stay in the moment, but we haven’t run off a long winning streak in a while,” said Curry, who had 25 points. “That would be a nice feeling going into the playoffs if we could build that type of momentum.”