Prior to the Warriors’ visit to the Chesapeake Energy Arena yesterday, eight-time All-Star Kevin Durant was asked if he would be able to suit up. He had sprained his left ankle in a match over the weekend, and wound up missing the next outing. “I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll see how it feels in the morning, but, right now, it feels good.” Which, to avid fans of the National Basketball Association, simply meant he would play; short of the coming of the End of Days, nothing was going to make him miss his date with his former squad.
Indeed, Durant prepped to burn rubber, his competitiveness compelling him to face the chorus of boos certain to rain on him from opening tip to final buzzer. In turn, he resolved to make the Thunder faithful remember why they were bitter in the first place, just as he did early this year when he put up 34 (on 12-of-21 shooting), nine, and three in a brutally efficient 34 minutes. And if there was any doubt of his presence, he promptly erased it by heading to the court a full three-quarters of an hour before any other Warrior yesterday; he wanted to put in the work he needed to ensure that he was at his best.
As things turned out, Durant came up with a respectable showing. Nonetheless, it was nowhere near enough to help the Warriors in the face of a determined effort by the hosts. Beleaguered through the first month of the 2017-2018 campaign, the Thunder rode to victory on the strength of top dog Russell Westbrook’s inspired play and fellow marquee names Paul George and Carmelo Anthony’s complementary efforts.
The setback notwithstanding, Durant looked at peace with himself in the aftermath. His second return to Oklahoma City was not as emotionally charged as the first. “It’s just a regular game for me now,” he noted. Well, maybe not; as evidenced by the series of tweets critical of the Thunder that he meant to post anonymously two months ago, there are still wounds to tend to. Then again, there can be no denying his intent to move on. And, in any case, he has a championship and a Finals Most Valuable Player award to tide him over.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is the Senior Vice-President and General Manager of Basic Energy Corp.
