Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder, winner of the last three NBA scoring titles, has been knocked off his perch in 2013 by Carmelo Anthonyc of the New York Knicks, and his 28.7 points per game.
Durant, who leads the Thunder with 28.1 points per game despite not leading the team in shot attempts, informed fans via Instagram that he would be resting tonight against the Milwaukee Bucks. His message read, "Sitting out tonight's game, if you disappointed I didn't try for the scoring title oh well!!"
Durant would have needed to score 70 points to close the gap on Anthony. His career is 52 points, which he scored in an overtime win over the Dallas Mavericks in January of the 2012-2013 season.
Anthony has scored 36.9 points per game in April, and went on an eight-game barrage beginning April 2nd against the Miami Heat that saw him score 30 points or more in each game. That stretch included a 50-point effort against the Heat. He scored a whopping 270 points during that span.
Anthony moved to power forward for the majority of the year, allowing the Knicks to surround him with 3-point shooters while he became the hub of the offense. He had one 50-point effort, and scored 40 or more points seven other times.
In Oklahoma City, Durant's game seemed to change after the Thunder dealt James Harden right before the season started. Harden had become Oklahoma City's most dynamic creator, and Durant stepped up to fill his void. His 28.1 points per game were the second highest of his career, but his shot attempts per game dropped from 19.7 to 17.7. Durant's assists leapt from 3.5 to 4.6, and his field goal percentage was 51 percent, the first time he broke 50 percent in his career. As a comparison, Anthony's 28.7 points per game came as he took 22 shots a night.
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