On April 26th in 2019, Golden State Warriors' Kevin Durant dropped a playoff career-high 50 points in a series-clinching 129-110 Game 6 win against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the playoffs.
Then the reigning two-time Finals MVP, Durant finished with six rebounds and five assists while shooting 15-of-26 from the field and 14-of-15 from the free-throw line in a game-high 42 minutes of action.
Courtesy of this eruption, the 6'10" sharpshooter set multiple all-time NBA playoffs and franchise records.
Kevin Durant had himself a night
— Golden State Warriors (@warriors) April 27, 2019
🔥 #NBAPlayoffs career-high 50 points
🔥 38 first half points ties Playoff record for most in a first half
🔥 Fourth Warrior to ever score 50+ in a Playoff game
🔥 Eighth player in @NBAHistory to score 45+ points in back-to-back Playoff games pic.twitter.com/15gTQpTaSW
He joined the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Rick Barry and Sleepy Floyd as the only Warriors to score at least 50 points in a postseason game.
For the entire Clippers series, Durant averaged 35.0 points per game on 56.7% shooting. More importantly, following the Game 2 loss where the Warriors gave up a 31-point lead and Durant fouled out, he had some interesting comments on whether Patrick Beverley's defense was playing a role on his relatively limited scoring contribution.
Kevin Durant on Clippers/Pat Beverley defense: “They’re playing a gimmicky defense.”
— Logan Murdock (@loganmmurdock) April 17, 2019
Then says he can get any shot he wants.
“I’m Kevin Durant. Y’all know who I am.” pic.twitter.com/JOQkXjpAgh
Since that "I'm Kevin Durant" comment, in the remaining four games of the series, he averaged 41.5 points on 57.3% shooting and this 50-piece was the icing on the cake.
Other notable events on April 26th
- The sixth-seeded New Jersey Nets stunned the reigning NBA Champions - the Philadelphia 76ers - 3-2 in the first round of the 1984 Playoffs by winning the deciding Game 5, 101-98.
- In 1985, Mark Eaton blocked an NBA playoff record 10 shots in a 96-94 loss to the Houston Rockets, a record that would be matched by Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 29, 1990.
- In 1988, the NBA added a third referee to the league's officiating crews for the 1988-89 season.
Game-winning buzzer-beater on April 26th
Vince Carter vs. San Antonio Spurs in 2014
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