OKLAHOMA CITY — The play begins 75 feet from the basket, with a lunge and a steal, the start of a Kevin Durant breakaway. The strange murmurs begin a split-second later.
Durant is dribbling, running, gliding past midcourt, losing his last defender. The chorus starts to rise, becoming his soundtrack.
It's not excitement, not exactly. And it's not a roar. It's not even that loud. It's more like a fretful clamor, a dissonant blend of hope and anxiety and adoration and concern. By the time Durant completes the play, a fairly ordinary right-handed dunk, the crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena has reached its collective crescendo.
And then, near-silence, a massive exhale.
It is Oct. 9. The game is an exhibition, the opponent is from Istanbul and the results mean nothing. In eight NBA seasons, Durant has completed hundreds of dunks, many more memorable, but probably none as meaningful.
It's been six months since the last of Durant's three foot surgeries, and much longer since anyone in Oklahoma City could feel joy for the Thunder's willowy superstar. For all of those official statements about "succ ...
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Article written by Howard Beck
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