Kevin Durant drops 21 points in Timberwolves loss

Kevin Durant scored a team-high 21 points in Wednesday night’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He shot 7-of-14 from the field and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line.

He also added five rebounds, two assists, one steal, one block and two three-pointers.

Durant logged 35 minutes in the game.

The performance came two days after a testy exchange with a reporter following Monday’s win over the Boston Celtics.

That confrontation has been widely shared and discussed across sports media.

Colin Cowherd defended Durant’s side of the exchange on his show, “The Herd.”

Cowherd argued that the reporter’s question was out of line and that Durant had every right to push back.

The exchange has divided fans and analysts.

Some say Durant overreacted.

Others say the reporter was asking a loaded question after a win.

On Wednesday, Durant attempted 14 shots — a normal workload for the future Hall of Famer.

His shooting percentages were solid.

The stat line was balanced.

Fantasy managers were reminded not to panic over one game where he took only six shots.

That low-shot game had happened earlier in the week and may have contributed to the reporter’s line of questioning.

Durant’s 21 points were the most on his team Wednesday night.

But the Rockets still lost to the Timberwolves.

The loss dropped Houston’s record on the season.

Durant is in his second season with the Rockets after being traded from the Brooklyn Nets.

He is widely considered one of the greatest scorers in NBA history.

His career averages include over 27 points per game.

He has won two NBA championships, both with the Golden State Warriors.

He also won two Finals MVP awards.

Durant’s move to Golden State in 2016 remains one of the most debated free-agent decisions in league history.

He left the Oklahoma City Thunder after nine seasons.

The Thunder had just blown a 3-1 lead to the Warriors in the Western Conference Finals.

Durant joined the team that beat him.

That decision created lasting tension between Durant and Thunder fans.

But time has softened some of that bitterness.

Russell Westbrook, Durant’s former teammate in OKC, recently had his jersey retirement announced by the Thunder.

Westbrook’s No. 0 will be retired on Feb. 7, 2027, against the New York Knicks.

Many now expect Durant’s No. 35 to eventually hang in the rafters as well.

Sports columnist Berry Tramel said on SiriusXM NBA Radio that he believes the honor is coming.

“I do think it is coming,” Tramel said.

“I think there’ll have to be an ownership change. But I think it’ll have to be after that. I think there’s too much bitterness … from both sides.”

Tramel added that Durant helped make the Thunder, not the other way around.

“The Thunder and Oklahoma City did not make Kevin Durant, he helped make the Thunder,” he said.

Durant has also made a major impact off the court.

In 2018, he donated $10 million to build a college-preparatory center in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, his hometown.

The Durant Center was created in partnership with Prince George’s County Public Schools and College Track.

College Track is an after-school program that helps underserved students prepare for college.

It had operated for over two decades in California before expanding to Seat Pleasant.

By 2018, College Track programs nationwide had helped 3,000 students enroll in college.

The Durant Center was the first of three planned College Track centers in the Washington, D.C., area.

Durant grew up in Seat Pleasant, where 80 percent of the Black population lived in poverty.