As Kevin Durant left the floor following his latest masterpiece for the Nets, "Brooklyn's Finest" by The Notorious B.I.G. and Jay-Z blared over the speakers at Barclays Center.
They couldn't have picked a more appropriate song.
Kyrie Irving waits to congratulate Kevin Durant after a historic 53-point effort.
— Erik Slater (@erikslaterNR) March 13, 2022
They hug on the court and make their way to the locker room. What a game. pic.twitter.com/HikF98ATEV
In the shorthanded Nets' 110-107 victory over the Knicks on Sunday, Durant went off for 53 points and added nine assists, six rebounds and two steals in 43 minutes of action.
As evidenced by the narrow decision, Brooklyn needed every point from its superstar, who shot 19 of 37 from the field, 4 of 13 from the 3-point line and 11 of 12 from the free-throw line to help make up for the absences of Kyrie Irving and Seth Curry, among others.
KD. CLUTCH 🥶 pic.twitter.com/M66U59msuV
— NBA TV (@NBATV) March 13, 2022
Take a look at Durant's performance by the numbers.
60
Before looking at the 53-point performance in its totality, it's important to acknowledge that Durant scored 40 points (on 15 of 29 shooting) through the first three quarters.
In doing so, Durant turned in the 60th game with 40 or more points in his career, per Justin Kubatko.
Kevin Durant today:
— Justin Kubatko (@jkubatko) March 13, 2022
✅ 53 PTS
✅ 6 REB
✅ 9 AST
It's the eighth 50-point game of Durant's career, tying him with Bernard King for 12th place on the NBA's all-time list.
Durant now has 60 career 40-point games. He's the 13th player in NBA history to reach that mark. pic.twitter.com/xrdRdizRwm
8
Durant now has eight 50-point games in his career. According to Kubatko, Durant is now tied with Bernard King for the 12th most 50-point games in NBA history.
The number eight holds even more significance as Durant's 53-point performance is his highest scoring output since the 2013-14 season, when he scored a career-high 54 points on Jan. 17, 2014.
3
Durant, who scored 51 points in a win over the Pistons on Dec. 12, became the third player with multiple 50-point games this season, the others being Jayson Tatum and LeBron James.
Players with multiple 50-point games this season:
— StatMuse (@statmuse) March 13, 2022
Jayson Tatum
LeBron James
Kevin Durant pic.twitter.com/PK232lzzK9
29.59
You know a scoring race is highly contested if it comes down to the hundredths.
Following his latest showing, Durant is now averaging 29.59 points per game, good for fourth behind Joel Embiid, Giannis Antetokounmpo and James.
How close of a race is it, you ask? 0.12 points separate first and fourth following Durant's performance.
| Player | PPG | |
| 1 | LeBron James | 29.71 |
| 2 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | 29.68 |
| 3 | Joel Embiid | 29.68 |
| 4 | Kevin Durant | 29.59 |
Durant, however, has missed 26 games this season, meaning he can play in a maximum of 56 games. To qualify for the scoring title, a player must play in 70 percent of their team's games, which equates to 58.
The only way in which Durant can capture the scoring title is if his total points divided by 58 exceeds everyone else at season's end.
