There’s nothing better than watching two great players in their prime, pushing themselves to that extra gear. In the NBA regular season, it basically only happens in games like this, where both teams push back and forth, tensions escalate, and eventually it gets so intense that it feels like a playoff game. And that’s when we get to watch to great players put their team on their back... At that point, just sit back and enjoy. Our Jazz blog, SLC Dunk, sure did:
Jazz Blog: Deron And Durant Were Lights Out
Kevin Durant and Deron Williams were unconscious; even more than usual if that's possible. There are a lot of games where the stats don't show the true story behind a player's performance. These are pretty close though.
Durant, 45 points, 4 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks, 7 three-pointers, 12 free-throws, and 13-29 shooting.
Deron, 42 points, 10 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 turnover (42 minutes), 4 three-pointers, 10 free-throws, 14-23 shooting.
Durant's 45 points were just short of his career high. His line shows just how dominant he was yet it doesn't show where those shots were coming from. He was nailing shots from everywhere. What's scary was how effortless he can put up 30-footers. He's got a unique set of arms that lets him coil up and let it fly with just a little power. He had a turnaround 40-footer at the end of regulation that he took falling backwards and off his back foot and it bounced off the back of the rim. Take that in. It wasn't short, it was long and almost in.
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The Jazz had an answer in Deron Williams ... After Jeff Green had made a layup in OT to give the Thunder a 139-140 screen, the Jazz ran an inbound play for Deron to get the last shot. The ball was in-bounded to Boozer while Deron ran through a couple of picks to get the ball. He came around the left elbow, got the ball from Boozer, and nailed the long jumper in what would be the game-winner.
Just... a phenomenal game. For more from the Jazz perspective, check out SLC Dunk’s full recap, and we’ll have more as the day goes on.
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