Big Apple Basketball’s John Lucas III scored 60 points in defeat. (Denis Gostev)
While New York City couldn’t get enough of Kevin Durant’s Rucker Park highlights on Tuesday, John Lucas III seethed. He was in too many of them, one of the players the NBA superstar effortlessly hung 66 on in the memorable scoring display.
“I slept all day to be ready for tonight,” he said of the rematch at Nike Pro City on Tuesday night. “It treated it like an NBA playoff game. It sparked me, seeing all that stuff [on the internet].”
Lucas, the former Oklahoma State star who has bounced around the NBA and now plays for the Chicago Bulls, wasn’t in the background Tuesday night as Durant continued his New York City streetball tour at Nike Pro City at Baruch College. He was the co-star, putting on his own breathtaking performance – 60 points on 22-of-41 shooting for Big Apple Basketball – in a 146-143 overtime loss.
“It was really a mano-a-mano matchup,” Big Apple Basketball coach Jason Curry said. “It wasn’t The Kevin Durant Show.”
Durant, of course, was still the main attraction. The Lower Manhattan gym was packed beyond belief in anticipation of the reigning NBA scoring champion. A few hundred fans were turned away, in fact, just hoping to catch a glimpse of the 6-foot-9 wing in action. Though he didn’t shoot nearly as well as he did at Rucker Park against far inferior competition, Durant was most responsible for the thrilling victory.
“It’s bittersweet,” Curry said. “From an entertainment standpoint, it was a lot of fun. Unfortunately for us, we needed this win to get in the playoffs. Now we’re eliminated.”
He scored 41 points for The Franchise, including an overtime-forcing 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds remaining. In the extra session, he gave The Franchise the early lead, setting up former Rice and Seton Hall standout Andre Barrett for an uncontested trifecta and extending a one-point lead to three with 3.7 seconds left on a short jumper.
Before the contest, Durant raved about the experience at the Rucker. Joining NBA greats such as Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Julius Erving, Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant, Durant gave the standing-only crowd memories they may never forget.
“I can scratch that off my bucket list,” he said. “I always wanted to play at Rucker Park. One of the best times I ever had in my life.”
Tuesday was different. Durant was one of five players – Sundiata Gaines, Barrett, Roy Hibbert and Lucas – that are either in the NBA or have played there before. His shots were contested and he was bodied when he put the ball on the floor. He even had his shot blocked once. The opposition wasn’t ready to lay down, even after getting off to a slow start. Lucas made sure of that, wowing the capacity crowd with a series of fearless drives, 3-pointers and running one-handers.
“You can’t ask for better competition,” Lucas said.
Durant, even, was part of the impressed audience. His team, after all, was the stronger unit. Lucas, however, was arguably the most impressive player on the court.
“The way he played was unbelievable,” Durant said. “He had a helluva game.”