Tuesday, January 21, 2014 was a day in which the stars of the NBA came through with huge offensive performances. An MVP candidate continued to separate himself from the field and an embattled performer provided further evidence that he’s turned things around after a slow start.
Here’s everything that you need to know about last night’s action.
1. Kevin Durant continued his MVP-caliber stretch of play with 46 points on 17-of-25 shooting from the floor, 6-of-7 from 3-point range and 6-of-7 from the free throw line to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 105-97 win over the Portland Trail Blazers. It was the fifth time this season that KD scored at least 40 points and the fourth time he topped 46.
While Durant has done it four times, no other player has scored at least 46 points in a single game this season.
2. Rudy Gay matched a career-high with 41 points on 16-of-25 shooting and 5-of-8 from beyond the arc as the Sacramento Kings took down the New Orleans Pelicans 114-97. Isaiah Thomas added 20 points and 11 assists, and DeMarcus Cousins tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds as Sacramento’s trio of stars continued to tear apart opposing defenses.
Cousins has a double-double in 15 straight games. That’s the longest streak by any Kings player since the franchise moved to Sacramento in 1985.
As for Gay, all he’s doing is averaging 21.0 points on 52.5 percent shooting from the field with Sacramento after averaging 19.4 points on 38.8 percent shooting with the Toronto Raptors.
3. LeBron James scored 29 points to lead the Miami Heat to a 93-86 victory over the Boston Celtics. It was a big win for Miami, as it brought the defending champions to a game above .500 during the month of January at 6-5.
Boston, meanwhile, has lost 10 straight home games. That’s the longest active streak in the NBA.
4. Five separate Minnesota Timberwolves players scored at least 15 points as Rick Adelman’s crew earned a 112-97 road victory over the Utah Jazz. Kevin Love led the way with 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Ricky Rubio added 11 points, 13 assists, five rebounds and five steals.
It was Minnesota’s first road victory since January 6.
5. Andray Blatche scored 18 points as the Brooklyn Nets hit 10 3-point field goals to down the Orlando Magic 101-90. Deron Williams came off of the bench for the second straight game and put up nine points and nine assists to help Brooklyn’s second unit outscore its starters by a count of 52-49.
Kyle O’Quinn scored a season-high 15 points with eight rebounds and two blocks in 24 minutes for Orlando.
Bonus Facts
- Rudy Gay originally hit his career-high of 41 points on December 13, 2009.
- Kevin Durant has scored at least 45 points an NBA-best 12 times since 2007-08.
- Durant has five games with 40 points in 2013-14. No other player has more than two.
- Durant has scored at least 30 points in eight consecutive games. No other player has done it in more than four straight during the 2013-14 season.