With his explosive 49-point performance against the Orlando Magic, Golden State Warriors All-Star Kevin Durant edges James Harden of the Houston Rockets for 2nd most 40-point games among active players. Durant only trails Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James on the said list.
Justin Kubatko of StatMuse tweeted out this recent accomplishment of the 2014 NBA Most Valuable Player and one of the most skilled scorers in the history of the league.
Kevin Durant now has 54 career 40-point games, second among active players to LeBron James:
63 – James
54 – Durant
53 – James Harden
38 – Russell Westbrook
36 – Carmelo Anthony pic.twitter.com/Yadleio2bE— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) November 27, 2018
With Russell Westbrook also in it, the former Big 3 version of the Oklahoma City Thunder crowds the list. They're probably one of those ‘what-ifs' had they not split up when the Thunder decided to prioritize defensive forward Serge Ibaka instead of re-signing Harden in 2012. Each of the three has already won an MVP award, and it's interesting to see if they would still try to team up during the tail-end of their respective careers.
Durant's 49 points on Monday night is just five points shy from tying his career-high. Down 18 points late in the third quarter, the Warriors went on a streak which Durant capped off with a dagger three in the waning seconds of regulation.
It's also the second straight 40-point game for Durant. Just a couple of days ago, he torched the Sacramento Kings with 44 points and 13 rebounds.
Still, Harden leads the league in scoring early this season with 31.5 points per game while the Warriors star ranks second with 29.2. Both of them have been carrying most of the offensive workload for their respective teams as their superstar teammates are nursing injuries.
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