"Damn, I didn't know that" - Kevin Durant is all smiles on learning that he broke Blake Griffin's Little Caesars Arena scoring record

Kevin Durant once again proved why he is the best player in basketball. On Sunday night, Durant dropped 51 points on the Detroit Pistons in Little Caesars Arena, powering the Brooklyn Nets to their 19th win of the season. Durant also had seven rebounds, nine assists and two blocks while shooting an outstanding 16-of-31 (51.6%) from the field. The superstar finished with five-of-10 long range splashes in the game.

Durant's 51 points bettered Steph Curry's 50 points versus Atlanta on November 8 as the NBA's best individual scoring game of the season.

However, Durant also bettered the individual scoring record at Little Caesars Arena enroute to his 51 points. Interestingly, the previous scoring record at Little Caesars Arena was held by Durant's Brooklyn Nets teammate, Blake Griffin. Griffin dropped 50 points as a member of the Detroit Pistons in an overtime win versus the Philadelphia 76ers on 23 October 2018.

Durant did not know about Griffin's game and was pleasantly surprised to learn about the little fact. When asked whether he knew that it was Griffin's scoring record that he had improved, Durant replied:

"Really? [Laughs]... He had 50 here?... Damn, I didn't know that. This is a new arena, I’m sure somebody's gonna break this pretty soon.”

Durant puts up season-high after getting fined by the NBA

Durant's sizzling performance against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night came just a little after he had been fined $25,000 by the NBA. Durant was fined for directing obscene language toward a fan in the game versus the Atlanta Hawks on December 10. The incident took place with 28 seconds remaining in the second quarter of the Nets’ 113-105 win over Atlanta at State Farm Arena.

The game in Atlanta was an eventful one for Durant. He also got tangled up with Hawks star player Trae Young towards the end of the game, which led to both players receiving technical fouls. After the game, Durant referred to the episode as "nothing personal and all competition."

Durant is currently leading the NBA's scoring averages in the 2021-22 season with 29.4 ppg. He is previously a four-time scoring champion. His 51-point game versus the Pistons on Sunday was the eighth 50-point game of his career and the most points he has scored since joining the Brooklyn Nets.

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