During a Christmas Day that saw LeBron James put up a triple-double, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant may have stolen the show. Durant scored 21 points in the third quarter, and a season-high 44 points on the game, as the Thunder rolled to a 114-106 win over the Denver Nuggets. The performance bested his previous high of 34 points and increased his NBA leading scoring average on 27.5 points per game.
Thunder Vs. Nuggets, NBA Christmas Day: Kevin Durant Scores Season-High 44 Points In 114-106 OKC Win
The Thunder trailed by two coming out of the half, but Durant changed that quickly. His huge third quarter, in which he scored 21 of the Thunder’s 32 points, gave the Thunder the lead for good. Oklahoma City breezed through the fourth, closing the game strong and leaving with a Christmas win.
It wasn’t all Durant, though. The star got plenty of help from his teammates, the most of which came from James Harden off the bench. Harden finished with 21 points and Russell Westbrook finished with 19. Nenad Krstic added a team-high eight rebounds for the Thunder.
Chauncey Billups did all he could to keep the Nuggets in the game, finishing with team-high 30 points. Nene added 21 points and Ty Lawson chipped-in 19 off the bench. Nene also finished with a team-high 12 rebounds.
Oklahoma City improved to 21-10 with the win and sit just a half game behind Utah in the Northwest division. Denver fell to 16-12 with the loss.
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