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Kevin Durant is one of the greatest scorers of all-time. The two-time NBA champion is known for scoring effortlessly and is a four-time scoring champion. The future Hall of Famer is also a 9-time consecutive NBA All-Star.
He won the regular season MVP award in 2014 after averaging career-high 32 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists. Durant's career is filled with accolades and is a back-to-back NBA Finals MVP.
Let us take a look at the top five of his highest-scoring NBA games.
#5 50 at Portland Trail Blazers, 14 February 2018
Stat line: 50 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks on 63.0 % shooting
The Golden State Warriors were on a three-game winning streak and were in Portland to go up against the Trail Blazers. The hosts got blown out by the Utah Jazz in their last game and were aiming to be back to winning ways.
Although the Warriors were trailing the Blazers by a huge margin for the most part of the game, it was Durant who kept making big plays to keep them in the game. On a night when everyone else failed to show up for the Warriors, it was the 2-time NBA champ who showed up and scored 50 points on 17-27 shooting.
He shot well from the free-throw line as well and went 10-of-10. For the Blazers, Damian Lillard came up big with 44 points on 14-25 shooting. He was well supported by CJ McCollum who added 29 of his own and the Blazers defeated the Warriors, 123-117.
This was Durant's first 50-point game in more than 3 seasons but the home team spoiled it by ending the Warriors' 3-game winning streak. Portland then won their third and final match-up of the regular season against the Warriors in March at home.
#4 51 at Toronto Raptors, 21 March 2014
Stat line: 51 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and a block on 46.9 % shooting
When the two teams met in December at Oklahoma City, the Thunder lost by 6 points and Durant had a forgettable night shooting as he went 5-16 from the field. The two teams met again in March, this time in Toronto and KD had himself a night as he dropped 51 points along with the game-winning shot and took revenge for the previous loss.
This was a double-overtime game and the two teams produced an absolute classic. Durant started the game with an acrobatic lay-up. He drilled a step-back three-pointer to beat the buzzer and give the Thunder, the lead after first-quarter.
In the second overtime, with the Thunder down by 2 and 1.7 seconds remaining, Durant nailed a game-winning 3-pointer. The Raptors missed their final shot and the Thunder held on to a memorable victory on the road.
#3 51 vs Denver Nuggets, 19 February 2012
Stat line: 51 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals on 67.9 % shooting
The Thunder were at home for 5-games and hosted the Golden State Warriors for the first game. The Warriors got blown out by 23 points and Durant scored 23 points on a +16 night. Two days later, they hosted the Denver Nuggets who were on a two-game losing streak.
Kevin Durant went unconscious and scored 51 points in the game. This performance came on the back of a ridiculous 19-of-28 shooting. Durant was also money from the 3-point line and went 5-6 from beyond the arc. This was the 2-time Finals MVP's first 50-point game and the Nuggets' defenders were left scratching their heads.
Russell Westbrook also exploded with 40 points of his own on a 16-29 shooting and the Thunder defeated the Nuggets, 124-118 in overtime.
#2 52 at Dallas Mavericks, 18 January 2013
Stat line: 52 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals on 41.9 % shooting
Kevin Durant was averaging over 32 points in his last 5 games when the Thunder visited Dallas to take on the Mavericks. Durant came up big with a monster performance and registered his then-highest score of 52 points.
This was yet another overtime thriller and the Thunder managed to beat the Mavericks, thanks to Durant's dominant performance. Though he struggled from the field, he kept driving in and collected huge 21 foul shots. Kevin was incredible from the charity stripe and made all 21 of those attempts.
Though his jumpers did not fall in, he was really good from beyond the arc and went 5-of-9 from the 3-point line with a three-point field-goal percentage of 55.6. In the overtime, Durant took over and scored efficiently to take the Thunder home.
#1 54 vs Golden State Warriors, 17 January 2014
Stat line: 54 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals and a block on 67.9 % shooting
Kevin Durant was getting buckets for fun in the 2013-14 season. He went on to win the prestigious MVP trophy for his exploits that year. After totaling 36 points and beating the Houston Rockets on the road, Kevin erupted for 54 points against his current team, on the second of a back-to-back.
He was red-hot and went for 19-28 from the field with a field-goal percentage of 67.9. Durant also caught fire from the three-point line and went for 5-9 with an eye-catching 3-point field-goal percentage of 55.6.
The Golden State Warriors defenders could not stop him as he kept attacking the rim with ruthless aggression. He went 11-13 from the free-throw line and although Curry and Thompson had a brilliant game for the Warriors, Durant was way too much to handle and the Oklahoma City Thunder won the game, 127-121.
