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THUNDER
Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant playing with Golden State? Warriors fans dare to dream

Sam Amick
USA TODAY Sports

OAKLAND —The crowd at Oracle Arena is a spoiled, if appreciative, bunch.

Thunder forward Kevin Durant's 40-point, 14-rebound, five-assist outing against the Warriors was as good a job interview as you’ll ever find.

It’s a natural side effect of the hoops wizardry that has gone on with their Golden State Warriors in the past 54 weeks, a surreal stretch in which they won all 41 regular season home games in the kind of entertaining fashion that has made them the darlings of the NBA. So when the oohs and aahs were inspired by an opponent on Saturday night, that long and lethal former MVP named Kevin Durant who has the locals daring to dream in the midst of this dream season, it was as good a sign as any that they’re captivated by this notion of the Oklahoma City Thunder star coming their way via free agency this summer.

And with good reason.

Even with the Warriors holding on for a 116-108 win that showed yet again that they have no peers at this point, Durant’s 40-point, 14-rebound, five-assist outing was as good a job interview as you’ll ever find. But anyone who has watched Durant for these past nine seasons didn’t need this performance to be reminded of his special talent.

The truth, one that is so often forgotten, is that the Thunder’s failings these past few years have been almost entirely connected to the health woes that they simply couldn’t control. Translation: from Durant to Russell Westbrook, the confidence remains.

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“I mean we’re not scared of neither one of these teams,” Durant said when asked about the Warriors and the Western Conference’s other top team, the San Antonio Spurs. “We’re going to play our game. Nobody in this locker room is scared … If we want to get to where we want to get to, we’ve got to play them, so we’re not ducking nobody.

“It’s our first time playing them, so yeah we’re going to learn something about (them). We came out, we played hard, they played hard, it was on their home court, tough game (and) we lost. Black and white man. We know what we’ve got to do.”

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The real question, the one that will play such a pivotal part once July 1 rolls around, is whether the dominoes will fall in such a way that the Durant possibility might evolve into reality.

The Warriors have been hearing for years that they’d be on Durant’s short list when his free agency time came around. But because of their elevated status, not only the 2014-15 title but this gaudy record that has them looking like the favorites to defend, there’s an if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it component that simply can’t be resolved until the forthcoming postseason plays out. If the Warriors win it all yet again, the pressure to pay restricted free agent small forward Harrison Barnes his exorbitant market value to return will be great if only because he will have proved —twice — to be a pivotal part of their core. But if they lose, and if the Thunder aren’t the ones unseating them from the NBA’s throne, then the proverbial door to this seemingly-unfair scenario will be wide open.

If there’s a relevant factor that might help Thunder general manager Sam Presti and his staff sleep at night, it’s the fact that only the Thunder offer Durant the chance to leave the kind of legacy that is so rare in today’s NBA. The potential remains for a Tim Duncan-type of story to be told in Oklahoma City, a beginning-to-end tale that makes Durant a local legend who took the loyalty route. But it’s often forgotten that Duncan won his first title just two seasons in, and it would certainly help if Durant and the Thunder won their first championship together four months from now as a foolproof way to ensure that he returns.

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On this night, however, it was Durant’s chance to show Warriors fans why they should want him to join their elite club. After all, he’s one of the most dangerous scorers the game has ever seen.

While Barnes did an admirable job of proving his worth (19 points on eight of 14 shooting), Durant’s 10-point fourth quarter was the kind of tantalizing thing that made you wonder how this all might work if he did, in fact, come to town. He hit 12 of 25 shots, all while showing an ability to get to the free throw line that none of the Warriors can rival (13 of 13 from the charity stripe).

After a Barnes three-pointer put the Warriors up six points with 5:08 to go, Durant’s three-pointer over Draymond Green on the right wing on the next possession sparked the audible admiration from the home crowd that typically reserves its adulation for Curry & Co. He was slowed late by Warriors defensive stopper Andre Iguodala, but the late flurry was still furious enough to leave a lasting impression.

Durant in Oracle Arena on this night was something to remember. Now for the part we don’t know: whether this might become the new norm.

PHOTOS: One great photo from every Warriors game in 2015-16:

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