The Trailblazers opened up the home stand with a statement 48-point win against the CSL runner-ups, the Detroit Pistons. In his debut, Kevin Durant scored 40 points and chipped in 7 rebounds, a steal and a block in 33 minutes of playing time. "We feel like we matchup well against the Piston's three guard perimeter. That's a field day for Kevin, and a matchup I look forward to exposing against other teams," Coach Stan Van Gundy said.
The second game of the home stand welcomed another perennial CSL powerhouse, the Phoenix Suns. In a game that included much excitement for the individuals who attended, Kevin Durant scored an eye-popping 63 points on 16-26 shooting in only 36 minutes. Durant also chipped in 11 rebounds and 5 assists. "I was just able to get to my spots on the floor where I was most efficient, and made the best of my shots, got my teammates involved, and just tried to contribute in all aspects of the game," Durant said.
Durant during a timeout in the 1st quarter against the Pistons.
Rumors had circulated that a trade for Dwight Howard was subsequently following the Durant deal, but after unprecedented occurrences led to a later than anticipated call to the league office to finalize the Durant trade, talks fell through. "I won't comment on the nature of the deal, but yes, we did have things set for Howard to join Durant as well... we will keep looking up until the deadline to find another player if it is right for us.. we've got some assets to play with, a couple draft picks this year in what should be a deep draft," Andrew commented.
The Blazers will travel to Brooklyn tomorrow to face the 26-22 Nets. "It will be a good test for us, and kind of ironic if the Howard rumors were in fact true... we'll get ready for battle and bring it to them,' Durant said.
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