Oklahoma City Thunder guard Lu Dort exploded for 30 points in the Game 7 loss to the Houston Rockets.
It not only broke the Thunder rookie playoff scoring record that had been set by James Harden; it was a point tally that, with his age, put him ahead of all-time greats.
Dort joins LeBron James and Kobe Bryant as the only two players to score 25 points or more in a Game 7 at the age of 21 or younger, according to Mike Lynch and Stathead.
Bryant scored 25 points in 2000 against the Portland Trail Blazers at the age of 21.
James scored 27 points in 2006 against the Detroit Pistons when he was 21 years old.
On Wednesday, Dort went 10-for-21 from the field and 6-for-12 from 3. His 21 shots were more than anyone else in the game, as were his 30 points.
“It was one of the most impressive things that I’ve seen out of a player that young,” head coach Billy Donovan said. “Here’s a guy that was in the G League, he never got drafted, was a two-way player and here he comes up. We have some injuries and everyone knows the story.”
The Donovan mentioned Dort’s Game 5 showing, a 3-for-16 performance in which he went 0-for-9 from 3.
“If that doesn’t show you the mental toughness of a guy to be able to come back and play as well as he did in Game 6, after that Game 5, and then come back today, he needed to play better and also focus on also guarding James Harden. I was really impressed.”
