With one quarter to go, the first 50-point game of Kevin Durant's career seemed within his grasp. That he chose not to force the issue meant he didn't reach that personal goal -- but that decision did help the Oklahoma City Thunder win. Durant, the NBA's scoring leader, had a season-high 44 points, including 21 in the third quarter, and the Thunder beat the Denver Nuggets 114-106 on Saturday night in the first Christmas Day game in the Thunder's three-season tenure in Oklahoma City. Durant raised his average to 28.1 points and topped his previous season high of 34, blowing past the latter by the five-minute mark of the third quarter en route to his first 40-point game of the season -- after having eight of them last season. He finished 14-of-20 from the field, including 4-of-7 from 3-point range. Read more: http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=301225025
