~STORY OF THE WEEK~

STANDING TALL, DREAMING BIG

WITH COMEBACK VICTORY OVER LA, THUNDER WIN FIRST PLAYOFF GAME EVER & SOLIDIFY POTENTIAL

The N.B.A.’s elite can blame themselves for Kevin Durant’s evolution. He takes from here and there. He mimics and copies. At 21, Durant does not have much experience of his own to draw on. Instead, he copies Carmelo Anthony’s rip move, Dwyane Wade’s craftiness in luring fouls and Kobe Bryant’s resilience. “I still feel as though I’m not in that group,” Durant said. “Those guys are above me as far as doing the things they do.” Durant is respectful of the N.B.A.’s pecking order and mindful of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s collective youth. It still strikes him as odd that he won this season’s scoring title, averaging 30.1 points a game, over more established players. Before the season, he said, he thought that people who predicted he would win the scoring title needed to be examined. He did, however, make one prediction. He described anything but a Thunder appearance in the postseason as a disappointment. The organization had just finished a season in which it went 23-59 after starting 3-29. “I thought, hold on young fellow,” Coach Scott Brooks said. The unflinching belief paid off in 50 wins this season. Durant stepped onto the Ford Center’s court Thursday for a moment few believed would arrive this soon: the hosting of the organization’s first playoff game in Oklahoma City. “I knew we had the group of guys around here that liked to play the game of basketball, first off,” Durant said. “They had a passion for the game because some people lose their passion for it once they get to the N.B.A. We had a group of guys that loved the game and liked playing the game of basketball together. I knew right there that that was an ingredient to our success. We work hard.” Before the game, Durant appeared unfazed, perhaps a trait he borrowed from Bryant, even though he struggled with his shot through the first two games of the series. “A lot of people said it would be different, but to me I feel as though it’s the same as the regular season with higher stakes, I guess,” Durant said. “The energy is the same, but playoff basketball is more physical. That’s the biggest difference.” The crowd marked the Oklahoma debut of playoff basketball by making its presence known. Bryant called it one of the loudest arenas he had played in. The fans cheered early, often and throughout for Durant, who is polite, nearly to a fault. Underneath, though, Durant is fully conscious of his capabilities. On Thursday, he was not below Bryant, but in front of him and, when the game mattered the most, beyond him. Catapulted by Russell Westbrook’s dunk near the end of the third quarter, Durant came alive. He had missed 13 of his 17 shots entering the fourth quarter. Ron Artest blanketed him, and the Lakers dispatched a number of defenders to help. In the fourth, Durant wrestled free and scored 12 of his game-high 29 points in the Thunder’s 101-96 victory. Meanwhile, he guarded Bryant, who missed eight shots in the quarter and seemed hesitant to drive against Durant, a forward who has a 7-foot-5 wingspan. The sequence changed the dynamics of the series, which the Thunder can tie with a victory in Saturday’s Game 4. In a season measured by the large steps the franchise has taken, this was the biggest, and it came about in large part because of Durant’s maturation. The moment did not reflect a passing of the baton from Bryant, the veteran franchise player who may still have the final say in this series, to Durant, the rising star. But it did constitute a coming-of-age moment for Durant. “It was a matchup that caught me by surprise,” Bryant said. “I think he did a great job.” With Durant’s grandmothers sitting courtside, his moment had arrived. “I have a long ways to go until I get to that elite class,” Durant said. “Hopefully, I get there before it’s all said and done, but I’ve just go to keep working.” After the game, Durant lingered by his locker. He would soon be shuffled to an interview room that would accommodate the large number of reporters who wanted to talk to him. True to character, Durant would rather have spoken to reporters at his locker. “I’m not trying to be a superstar or anything like that,” he said, although his performance suggested otherwise. (NYTimes.com)