Kevin Durant was at a point of no return, so the Thunder forward kept elevating. A collision was inevitable yet it seemed like the least of his concerns. It probably didn’t matter who was in Durant’s path at that point. It just so happened to be seven-footer Brendan Haywood, a player known for his grit and reputation as a paint protector.

Durant literally took the challenge head-on. Durant posterized Haywood with one vicious dunk and when KD picked himself up off the floor he looked as if someone had insulted his mother to his face. He even earned a technical foul for taunting.

That emphatic dunk, accompanied by Durant’s display of raw emotion, sent a jolt of energy throughout the rest of his teammates. Oklahoma City was trailing by 11 points with less than two minutes to go in the first quarter shortly before Durant attacked Haywood at the rim. That would serve as an early turning point to the Thunder’s 106-100 win at the Dallas Mavericks in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals, evening the series at a game apiece as it shifts to Oklahoma City.

Sometimes, all it takes for a shift in momentum is a player of Durant’s caliber making a play that gets you off your seat. It isn’t calculated or premeditated, but when the opportunity presents itself it must be seized. That sequence undoubtedly will be replayed time and again on the highlight reels, and not even a few minutes after it happened ESPN analyst Jeff Van Gundy already had dubbed it the dunk of the year.

In the grand scheme of things, leaving Dallas with at least one win was the goal for KD and the Thunder, which received steady contributions from its bench (50 points).

This was nowhere near Durant’s 40-point Game 1 scoring barrage but it didn’t need to be because of teammates like James Harden (23 points) and Eric Maynor (13).

Durant finished with a team-high 24 points on 11-for-23 shooting to go with three rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. Durant deferred to his teammates down the stretch, setting up Harden for a clutch three-pointer before hitting a step-back jumper of his own a few possessions later to give the Thunder a 95-90 lead midway through the fourth quarter.

“It shows that guys don’t have to have big, great games to win,” Durant said of his performance. “It’s a team effort and that’s what kind of team we are. It’s about whatever it takes and that’s what we did tonight.”

For Durant, that meant getting others involved and carefully picking his spots. Durant had four points and two assists during a closely played fourth quarter in which the Thunder shot 11-for-17 from the field while holding Dallas to 9-for-22 shooting.

Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said that prior to the game he hammered home the point of “playing perfect is impossible, but playing hard is possible. You can do that.”

Durant and the Thunder did just that in Game 2.

While Dirk Nowitzki was on his way to making history, Kevin Durant made sure the game never got away from the Thunder.

That the Thunder lost Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, 121-112, on Tuesday was about the only reason why Durant’s play was overshadowed by Nowitzki’s 48-point performance, which included a postseason record for free throws made without a miss (24-for-24).

Durant nearly matched Nowitzki basket for basket throughout the night and continued to be as dependable of a scorer as they come en route to a 40-point effort.

Neither Durant nor Nowitzki needed 20 shot attempts to reach 40 points; Durant shot 10-for-18 from the field, including 18-for-19 shooting at the foul line. Nowitzki shot 12-for-15 from the field.

When talking about Nowitzki’s feat, Dallas head coach Rick Carlisle said: “There are very few guys in the league who can do that and unfortunately for us the other guy in the league who can is Durant and we’ve got to keep our guard up.”

But this was more than just another scoring barrage from KD.

With just 48 hours rest after wrapping up the conference semifinals with a Game 7 win over Memphis, Durant looked as ready as ever. The Thunder captain made his first six shots from the field, including a 5-for-5, 13-point first quarter. And Durant closed the game with a 13-point fourth quarter, nearly willing the Thunder back from a 16-point deficit.

“Kevin was good offensively,” Thunder head coach Scott Brooks said. “He had a nice rhythm going and he was attacking the basket and he had his jump shot going. He was making plays.”

Durant played an all-around game on Tuesday, finishing with eight rebounds, five assists and two blocks. Offensively, just because teammates weren’t able to shoulder some of the scoring load doesn’t mean he plans to change his approach moving forward.

“No matter if they miss 10 shots in a row I’m still going to pass them the ball,” Durant said. “One player, two players are not going to win this series.”

What’s good everyone? Just figured I’d check in and see what’s going on with everyone. We just wrapped up a four-game home stand and are in Dallas for a game against the Mavs tonight. I’m sure you guys all saw our tough loss against the Spurs on Wednesday night. We don’t like to take moral victories, but I’m proud of how we bounced back from a bad start and made it a game.

Anyhow, since I practically live at the arena during the season, whether it’s at the Ford Center or on the road, I figured I’d let you guys in on my game day routine. I really don’t have any rituals, but I guess you can say there’s a routine to it.

It really starts after our team’s morning shoot around. Once I come home I have to play my brother and friends in NBA Live or NBA 2K on the XBox. I’ve got to play one game of that. That’s always fun and that’s one thing I have to do on game days.

I don’t ever take naps on game days because any time I used to I’d just get sluggish. I like to get to the arena nice and early to get a workout in. I like to put up a bunch of different shots…slashing shots, curls, three-pointers. Stuff I do in the game I like to work on beforehand.

After that I always take a seat on our bench for a few minutes and that’s when I’m just chilling out. I might know some people on other teams. Like when the Bobcats came to town last month that’s when I had a chance to catch up with one of my good friends D.J. Augustin, who I played with at Texas. I usually wait for fans to get into the arena so I can sign some autographs for them. I love to sign stuff for the people who come out to see us. I’m just doing them a favor because they’re doing one for us as well.

After that, I head back to our new locker room, take a seat at my stall and read the scouting report. I ALWAYS read the scouting report. Then I’ll just listen to my music and chill out, get in my little mode I guess. I listen to a lot of R&B, a lot of rap, but mostly R&B. Then an hour before game time, me and some of my teammates head to the team chapel. I have to do chapel before every game, no matter where we’re playing.

And finally, I do have a little ritual once I’m on the court. Right after player introductions, when everyone’s taking the court for the opening tip, I go straight to the scorer’s table, where I’ll untie tie my shoes. I do that before every game and right after halftime. I really don’t know why I do it, but it’s become a habit.

Then, it’s game time.

Do you all have daily routines you have to follow before school and work? Let me know in the comments section, and be sure to check us out tonight against the Mavs.

Fans: Be sure to check out Kevin on Twitter and Facebook.

What’s good? Not sure if you all heard, but Nike is going to be releasing my new sneaker, the KD II, in January. But you guys can get a sneak peak of it during tonight’s game against the Dallas Mavericks. The game will be on ESPN, so you’ve got to check it out and tell me what you think. The colorway we will be wearing tonight is called the “Creamsicle”.

First off, just to have your own shoe is a blessing. To have Nike on your feet is also a blessing. On top of that, some of my teammates are going to wear my new sneakers tonight, too. It’s great to have that kind of support. For my teammates to represent my shoe feels good. A lot of people are going to see a lot of orange tomorrow, so I’m glad they decided to wear it. They liked it a lot. I brought them out in the summertime to wear, they’re excited and we can’t wait to play in them tonight.

Also, I wanted these sneakers to be affordable for everyone, so they’re only going to cost $85. I remember growing up when I couldn’t afford the Vince Carters or the Jordans or guys who had their own shoes. I always wore the team Nikes, like the Uptempos. I remember one of my teams had the Shaqs. I just had a couple of pairs. I couldn’t really get the Jordans that I wanted but it was always good just to find a shoe to play basketball in. So this time, I thought to myself that I want people to afford it and 85 dollars is the perfect price and hopefully people will start to buy them.

The KD II is different from my first sneaker, although there’s some similarities. The sneaker has a strap on it at the mid sole. It’s not a high top but it’s a mid, almost. It’s a great fit. It has the same bottom as the KD1s that show how I grew up and my workout plans and things like that. It’s pretty cool. One of the numbers on the sole is 108, which is the house number for my grandmother’s house. I used to sit outside of her house almost every day after the school. Another number is 20746, which is the address number of the post office where my mom used to work at across the street from my old house. Those are just some things from my childhood that mean a lot to me.

I gave out the first pair of KD II creamsicles to a guy named Brendan. He was the first person to come and donate at my Giving Tree event last night, so I hooked him up with a pair of shoes. My folks at Nike Basketball are also going to give out a pair tonight during the game, so make sure to follow them on Twitter.

Man, I’m pumped for tonight’s game and for you guys to see my new sneaker. Remember, they don’t come out until January. You can tell me what you think of the KD II in my comments section. Be honest!

Fans: Be sure to check out Kevin on Twitter and Facebook.