Already very strong in Game 5 lost by the Warriors with 45 points, Kevin Durant saved the best for last. At Staples Center, to finally dismiss a valiant Clippers team, the winger will release one of his best career matches. A real offensive demonstration.
Nothing is given to him by Doc Rivers’ defense. Some of his shots are complicated, highly contested. But with 38 points at the break, the MVP of the 2017 and 2018 Finals is simply too strong, and he then establishes the second performance of all time in the playoffs, over a half, behind the 39 points of Sleepy Floyd in 1987 .
Back from the locker room, the Warriors are in control of the game and Kevin Durant can finally cool down. He finished with 50 points at 15/26 in shooting, 6/14 in 3-pts, 14/15 in free throws, in what Steve Kerr will qualify as ” one of the greatest performances that he has seen in his life.
Pat Beverley and Lou Williams are in shock
At a press conference, Lou Williams and Pat Beverley will be asked about Kevin Durant’s performance. And what they could have done to prevent him from scoring so much. Funny and admiring, the two Clippers could only see that they came across a giant.
“What do you believe? Have you played basketball before? What do you think ? This is a serious matter” Pat Beverley asks. ” What do you think ? You’ve seen a lot of basketball. You work for ESPN. What I mean is it’s Kevin Durant! We didn’t let it happen. We didn’t arrive saying, ‘OK, let him score 50 points’. Of course not! He’s an incredible player. He took and put hard shots. If you were a coach, what would you have advised us? THANKS. »
“I’m Kevin Durant, you know who I am”
Same mixture of admiration and frustration with Lou Williams. “I promise you we tried… We tried everything (laughs). We had several different defenses on Kevin. Sometimes you come across someone unique and not everything you send them is enough. There is no system. There is nothing to deal with unique players and he is one of them. He proved it tonight. »
For the former best 6th man in the NBA, Durant was on a mission! “He carried them on his shoulders. He came to the game like, “I’m Kevin Durant, y’all know who I am.” It’s a strong message when you know you’re going to face some extremely determined players. But he came in saying, ‘I can shoot these guys’ and he did. It was not a lack of effort on our part. He is a huge professional and he has proven it. He proved to everyone what we thought of him, and what he thinks of himself. We have to bow down and take our hats off to a guy like that. »
