It was hardly a clash of the titans, but thanks to a certain lanky 19 year old, at least it was fun to watch. Kevin Durant scored a career-high 35 points to match the number on his jersey, and the Sonics finally picked up a home victory, squeezing by the NBA’s most boring team, the Indiana Pacers, 95-93.

Durant looked bored himself as the game began, spending the first offensive set standing in the corner with his hands on his hips. He picked up a couple quick turnovers that betrayed a lack of concentration (one for carrying and another for catching a pass while standing on the sideline) and got the early hook from Carlesimo. Upon his return, he set about dominating the game with an offensive repertoire that made the other nine players look like rookies. Durant was the best player on the court and he knew it. The highlight was a shot clock-beating fadeaway over Danny Granger that most players would be shy to attempt even in a pick-up game.

A few notes:

-Given that Durant wants the ball in his hands (he’s always calling for it), is increasingly showing that he knows what to do with it (he’s creating plays for others as well as himself), and that the Sonics have, by all accounts, a point guard problem, why not run the offense through Durant? PJ finally came around to this idea at the end of the game; here’s hoping he sticks with it.

-Johan Petro made the most of his 15 minutes (6 points, 5 rebounds, 3 blocks), leading this observer to wish he were getting a few more minutes. And while you’re at it, PJ, give my guys Mo and Mik a little more time, too.

-It’s worth getting to games early to watch Mo Sene and Mik Gelabele before tipoff. (That’s about the only time they’re on the floor.) Mo blocks Mik’s layup in the warmup line! Mik shows Mo how he can jump and hit his head on the backboard during introductions! Mo tries but fails! Mo then shows Mik his new robot dance!

-Mike Dunleavy looks like a cross between James Van Der Beek, Neil Patrick Harris, and a shipment of human growth hormone.

-Finally, does Jeff Foster ever dunk the ball? He’s an athletic dude, and I recall a story a few years back on how Isiah Thomas said the Pacers practice would be over if both Jonathan Bender and Jeff Foster could put down dunks from the free throw line, and they did. But whenever Foster gets the ball in point blank range in the game, he lays it in. Strange for a big guy.

Around the League (or just in Utah):
-Andrei Kirilenko had the box score of the night: 20 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists, 6 steals, 4 blocks. Perhaps last night he took advantage of his spousally-granted yearly freebie.
-Kyrylo Fesenko made his NBA debut! After the Jazz struggled to reach him (he was being called up from the D League but thought he had the day off, so he didn’t set his alarm) he scored 6 points and grabbed 7 rebounds in 13 minutes. Way to go, Kyrylo!

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 1st, 2007 at 11:58 am and is filed under Supersonics, Roundball. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.