Thunder Returning to Form Heading to All-Star Break
On Wednesday night, Kevin Durant sat on the sidelines with an ice pack on this right foot during the fourth quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Oklahoma City Thunder were putting on an impressive display and a statement win against the Grizzlies, but everyone in attendance could see that Durant was laboring up and down the floor and favoring his foot that had been operated on earlier this season.
The big victory for the Thunder that closed them to without a half game of eighth place in the Western Conference could come at a big price. It would be step forward, but a huge one backwards if Durant could not play.
However, Durant put his shoe back on and checked in with just over six minutes remaining. He hit a smooth fadeaway from the baseline and went back on defense.
In the 34 minutes he played, Durant scored 26 points. He hit 4 of his 6 shots from three-point land and grabbed 10 boards.
Durant said he had some soreness in the foot, but it was nothing to be concerned about.
He said he knew that the pain would come and go, as it is a process. He is having treatments done and icing it during and after games.
Durant keeps scoring however, having scored 96 points in his past 100 minutes played and the Thunder are playing their best basketball since the start of the New Year. The Thunder has won three straight and five of their past six overall. The only loss was to a double-clutch basketball by Anthony Davis to beat the buzzer.
Memphis head coach David Joerger said that when Oklahoma City and San Antonio are both healthy with a full lineup they are the NBA’s two best teams.
When Durant has played this season Oklahoma City is 17-9, which includes the first game when he was rusty and they lost to New Orleans and a loss to Golden State after he scored 30 in one half then sprained an ankle and sat out the second half.
Oklahoma City has 29 games remaining in the regular season to secure the seventh or eighth spot out West and have Durant put the many injuries of this season behind him.
Scott Brooks the OKC head coach has said that each x-ray and MRI comes back clean on Durant so him and the team is not worried about his injuries.
Despite the injuries, the overall record and their place in the standings, the Thunder remains one of the best teams in the league.
On Wednesday, they were able to show that when things are clicking, their offense can be nearly unstoppable. Just ask Memphis, the best defensive team in the league was manhandled by the offense of the Thunder.
