Oklahoma City Thunder: Kevin Durant chases scoring title

Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant (35) looks to get the ball past Kobe Bryant (24) of L.A. during the NBA basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round of the NBA playoffs at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, Thursday, April 22, 2010. Oklahoma City won, 101-96. Photo by Nate Billings, The Oklahoman

Kevin Durant is within shouting distance of his third straight scoring title. He leads Kobe Bryant by 0.11 points per game, and each superstar has one game left. Because Kobe has played six fewer games than Durant, the math is not entirely cohesive. It comes down to this, basically: if Durant scores less than 30 points Wednesday night against Denver, then Bryant, who finishes Thursday night at Sacramento, has to outscore him by at least seven points. If Durant scores more than 30, then Kobe has to outscore Durant by at least six points.

I know, sounds funky. And here’s what’s really rich. If Durant scores 30, and Kobe scores 36, they end in an absolute dead heat, 28.0 points a game.

Thunder general manager Sam Presti said Tuesday night that Durant and the Thunder wouldn’t be focused on the scoring race. What’s fascinating about that statement is that the franchise that bred Presti and the Thunder Way, the Spurs, staged two of the most gross scoring duels in NBA history.

* On April 9, 1978, San Antonio’s George Gervin entered the final day of the season leading Denver’s David Thompson by 0.2 points a game, 26.8-26.6. Thompson played an afternoon game and scored 53 first-half points en route to 73 for the game, at the time the second-most in NBA history. Suddenly, Thompson was averaging 27.15 points a game. Gervin needed 58 points that night against the Jazz to win the title — and he got 63 to win the race.