Durant Scores 45

Kevin Durant scored a season-high 45 points on Sunday, missing only five shots from both the field and the foul line (16-of-21 FGs, 11-of-11 FTs) with 11 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two 3-pointers.

At 21 years old, it’s possible that there’s not enough buzz for Durant, whose 29.6 ppg passed LeBron James (29.4) on the scoring list to sit in second place behind Carmelo Anthony (29.7). His past weakness was his FG%, and he finished the month of January shooting over 50% from both the field and from 3-point range

Elsewhere around the NBA:

Oklahoma City: Russell Westbrook posted a monster 28-point, five-rebound, and eight-assist line in the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 112-104 win over the Warriors on Sunday. We feel bad completely discounting every great line that gets dropped on the Warriors, but they might be the worst defensive team in the history of the NBA

Phoenix: Suns C Amare Stoudemire scored a season-high 36 points on Sunday, hitting 12-of-22 shots from the field and all 12 of his free throws to go with 11 rebounds, one assist, and two blocks.

Charlotte: Chris Paul needs arthroscopic surgery for a cartilage tear in his left knee and will be out 1-2 months, according to a report by Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. Wojnarowski is one of the more reliable reporters around, so owners can start to make adjustments immediately. The report says that Paul will have the surgery on Monday.

New Jersey: Devin Harris, who missed his third straight game with a wrist injury, said he will try to play Tuesday against the Detroit Pistons, but that he will certainly be available for Wednesday’s game against the Raptors. “If Devin feels he can play unrestricted, then we’ll let him play. But we need him to play the way he can play,” said coach Kiki Vandeweghe. “We can’t have him playing with limitations.”

Los Angeles: Kobe Bryant’s fadeaway jumper from the top of the key with 7.3 seconds left put the Lakers up for good as they beat the Boston Celtics 90-89 on Sunday. Maybe one day the rest of the league will get the memo to double or triple-team him at the end of games, but until then we get to marvel over how easy he makes it look.

Oakland: Corey Maggette scored 26 points on 8-of-14 shooting (10-of-11 from the foul line) with five rebounds, four assists, and a steal on Sunday.

Minnesota: Kevin Love hit 9-of-18 shots and two 3-pointers for a career high of 25 points to go along with 11 rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block off the bench on Sunday. He also had six turnovers, and while he’s not as fun to own while coming off the bench, but as long as he gets 32 minutes on most nights, it shouldn’t matter too much.