Kevin Durant Scores 51 Points; Thunder Beat Nuggets In Overtime

It took until Feb. 19, but the NBA finally has its first 50-point scorer of the season. Kevin Durant dropped 51 in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 124-118 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night, and he did it in incredibly efficient fashion. Durant was 19-28 from the floor, including 5-6 from three-point range. He was also 8-10 from the free throw line.

Russell Westbrook contributed 40 points, giving the pair a combined 91 points on the night. That total was higher than seven entire NBA teams put up on Sunday night. The last time teammates had 50 and 40 in a game, their team scored 184 points in a loss. Kiki Vandeweghe and Alex English pulled it off in a triple-overtime thriller in 1983, in which the Nuggets lost to the Detroit Pistons.

And as if all of this wasn't cool enough, Serge Ibaka had a triple-double. His contribution to the win was 14 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocks. A triple-double with 11 blocks made Serge Ibaka the third best performer on his own team. Reports that the Thunder had more than three players on Sunday night are unconfirmed.

For analysis, news and info on these two teams, visit Thunder blog Welcome To Loud City and Nuggets blog Denver Stiffs.

In one of the wildest games of the year, the Oklahoma City Thunder outlasted the Denver Nuggets 124-118 in OT.

Kevin Durant scored a career-high 51 points, the highest single-game point total in the NBA this season, none bigger than his game-tying dunk with :05 left in regulation.

Oklahoma City also got 40 points from Russell Westbrook as well as a triple-double from Serge Ibaka, who had 14 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocks, including a game-sealing rejection on an Arron Afflalo drive with less than a minute left in the extra period.

A strong effort from a short-handed Nuggets team, who were missing Nene, Danilo Gallinari and Rudy Fernandez, will probably be overshadowed by the Thunder's incredible individual performances.

Denver got 56 points from their bench, as they kept the Nuggets in the game by pushing the pace whenever Oklahoma City's starters were off the floor.

Andre Miller had 21 points and 10 assists, while Afflalo led Denver with 27 points on 10-21 shooting. Ty Lawson, who had 17 points and 7 assists, had a chance to win the game at the end of regulation, but his shot from the top of the key bounced off the rim as time expired.

Serge Ibaka is having himself a nice all-around game as the Oklahoma City Thunder battle the Denver Nuggets. Ibaka already has a triple-double for the night, but it's not exactly an orthodox one. Instead, his triple-double comes by way of points, rebounds and blocks. That's right, blocks.

At the end of regulation, Ibaka had 14 points, 12 rebounds and an even 10 blocks. It was, once again, the Ibaka block party, and everyone was invited.

The best block, however, might have been his 10th. As he secured the triple-double, he paid a little tribute to Dikembe Mutombo. Here's the stuff and the finger wag.

And, of course, he's six-of-six from the field. While it's been all about Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, Ibaka not-so-quietly had himself an incredible game.

Four quarters weren't enough to separate the Denver Nuggets and Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night, as the two teams are tied at 111 after four thrilling quarters played at a breakneck pace.

Kevin Durant, after hitting a three-pointer with :30 left to get Oklahoma City within two, tied the game on a dunk with less than :05 seconds left:

Ty Lawson got an open look from the top of the key on a step-through move as time expired but couldn't convert, forcing OT in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder have been led by incredible individual performances from their two All-Stars, who combined for 78 points in regulation, as well as PF Serge Ibaka, who had a triple-double, with 14 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks.

The Nuggets were able to keep pace thanks to a huge edge in bench scoring, as Denver's reserves poured in 56 points, led by PG Andre Miller, who had 21 points and 10 assists.

After the Denver Nuggets got out to a 58-53 half-time lead in Oklahoma City, the Thunder, in particular SF Kevin Durant and PG Russell Westbrook, responded in the third quarter.

The two combined for 24 of Oklahoma City's 30 points in the third:

Denver, meanwhile, was able to keep pace with Oklahoma City's offensive explosion, which included a 12-0 run to start the half, thanks to a late run from their second unit that tied the score at 83.

PG Andre Miller turned back the clock with one of his best efforts of the year, with 17 points on 7-12 shooting and 7 assists so far.

The game has been played at the Nuggets pace, as both teams have been racing the ball up the court, combining for enough highlights to fill up the entire Top 10 on Sportscenter.

But as the fourth quarter begins, the question will be whether the Thunder try to slow the tempo and use their superior half-court scoring to put away Denver at home.

Even with Nene, Danilo Gallinari and Rudy Fernandez all out with injuries, the Denver Nuggets relied on a deep 10-man rotation to race out to a 58-53 half-time lead against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

And while the Thunder's three perimeter stars -- SF Kevin Durant, PG Russell Westbrook and SG James Harden -- scored 40 of Oklahoma City's 53 first-half points, the Nuggets had four different players -- PG Ty Lawson, SG Arron Afflalo, SF Corey Brewer and C Kosta Koufos -- in double digits.

It was a team effort for Denver, as 18 of their 25 field goals came off assists, with veteran PG Andre Miller dishing out 7 off the bench.

The Nuggets got solid minutes from their two first-round picks, PF Kenneth Faried (Morehead State) and SF Jordan Hamilton (Texas), who were were pressed into the rotation due to Denver's numerous injuries.

Oklahoma City, meanwhile, struggled with Durant and Westbrook out of the game, as their reserves were almost run off the court by the Nuggets second unit.

A Denver Nuggets team missing two starters, SF Danilo Gallinari and C Nene, came out strong against the Oklahoma City Thunder in a re-match of last season's first-round series between the two teams.

Oklahoma City was led by their All-Star duo of SF Kevin Durant and PG Russell Westbrook, who combined for 19 points on 7-14 shooting.

Durant showed off a series of pull-up jumpers while Westbrook put on an aerial exhibition, with Denver rookie Kenneth Faried rejecting one attempt above the rim before the Thunder star put down a second monster dunk.

The Nuggets went on a 10-0 run to close the quarter, repeatedly getting out in the open court and getting 8 points from Aaron Afflalo and 9 from Corey Brewer, who replaced Gallinari in the starting line-up.

The tempo of the game favored Denver, who plays at the NBA's fastest pace, but it remains to be seen whether they'll have enough firepower to trade baskets with Oklahoma City over four quarters.

When we last saw Russell Westbrook, he was searching for his first dunk of the game. Unfortunately for him, Kenneth Faried had other ideas, stuffing the young guard at the rim. But Westbrook doesn't give up too easily, so it was only a matter of time before he got one.

We didn't have to wait long for him to throw down a vicious dunk. This time, Faried wasn't around to contest him, leaving Westbrook with an open runway to take flight. And take flight he did.

Seems like every time he goes up, he's trying to bruise the rim.