Rocky Mountain notebook: Durant a hit even as misses pile up
TAYLORSVILLE, Utah -- Kevin Durant blew through Utah on Tuesday like a lightning flash, but the No. 2 overall selection in last June's NBA draft didn't go out without a bang.
Inside the gym at Salt Lake Community College, Durant -- though he struggled yet again with his shot, hitting just 7-of-21 from the field -- scored a game-high 29 points for Seattle as Utah beat the Sonics 102-88 at the Rocky Mountain Revue.
The real fireworks, though, were outside.

The guard, who also injured his arm, was checked out by paramedics while authorities led the unidentified handcuffed fan away.
Welcome to the wild, wild West -- Salt Lake City-style -- young Mr. Durant.
"I don't even know what to say about that,'' Durant, playing his first and only game in the Revue, said afterward. "I had my headphones on, so I didn't hear anything. But I heard [later] that he hit him in the face. I feel kind of bad knowing that he wanted to get an autograph from me, and the guard stopped him. I hope he's all right."
Inside, things were a little wacky as well.
At one point in the third quarter, a fan ran onto the court and approached the end of the floor that Durant was on before finally turning around. The 5,000-seat gym also was filled to capacity, something that had not happened in three previous Revue nights.
Durant, for his part, seemed blown away by all the attention.
"I really don't like it too much, but it's all right," he said. "I mean, it's a team sport. I don't think it should be just all on me. It would fun for my teammates to get a lot of recognition too, because without them I wouldn't be anything."
Without his shot, Durant -- though he had some awfully nifty moves along the baseline Tuesday -- seems a bit on the ordinary side as well.
The one-season-and-out University of Texas product admits that's been bothering him all summer, including during Seattle's visit earlier this month to the NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
"My shot is still not where I want it to be," said Durant, who was hounded much of the night by Morris Almond, the Jazz's 2007 first-round pick, and Wen Mukubu, a free agent from Alabama-Birmingham.
"I'm still getting good shots, but I just can't knock 'em down," added Durant, who was 4-for-17 through the game's first three quarters -- and finished 14-of-15 from the free-throw line. "I tell myself to keep being aggressive, and everything will fall."
The approach paid off on one particularly amazing play against the Jazz.
With one second remaining on the shot clock, Durant rose in the air to field an inbounds pass. Before returning to the floor, he one-timed a prayer of a shot that, don't you know it, banked in with a rattle.
Even he had to laugh about that one.
Durant's humble attitude certainly seemed sincere Tuesday.
"I'm just a young kid working hard and just want to make it to the NBA and be an impact player," he said.
That same attitude carries over to his thoughts on taking part this weekend in USA Basketball's minicamp in Las Vegas, a roster cut-down opportunity in advance of next month's FIBA Americas Championship -- the reason Durant will miss Seattle's last two Revue games Thursday and Friday.
"I'm just going in there trying to learn a lot of things from the veterans," he said. "And if it's meant for me to be on the team, then it's meant to be."
WHO'S HOT: With Chicago Bulls head coach Scott Skiles watching from a seat on the baseline, 2007 second-round draft choice Aaron Gray -- the 7-foot center from Pitt -- put on quite an impressive display.
Gray finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, hit all five of his shots from the field and blocked two shots in Chicago's 85-79 win over Atlanta. He also delivered the pass of the game, dishing from the lane on give-and-go to driving guard Boo Davis for a thunderous dunk late in the fourth quarter.
Gray -- who spent Monday night watching undrafted Canadian National Team member Levon Kendall, his former Pitt teammate, play for the Jazz -- is averaging 11.5 points and 6.5 rebounds in two games.
Meanwhile, Atlanta big man Shelden Williams --the No. 5 overall selection in the 2006 draft -- turned in another solid Revue performance. Williams had 20 points on 8-of-18 shooting against the Bulls. He is averaging 18.5 points in four summer games.
In the Revue's middle game Tuesday, Philadelphia point guard Louis Williams took over the spotlight yet again. Williams scored a game-high 24 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and dished eight assists in Philly's 98-86 win over San Antonio.
Williams came into averaging 22.0 points per game, even though he had played only three halves. Perhaps more importantly than all that, though, he committed just one turnover -- down seven from his count one game earlier. James White, back from a foot tendon injury sustained earlier in the Revue, led the Spurs with 20 points.
And in the nightcap, Paul Millsap -- the Jazz's usual backup forward -- put in a 22-point performance that should vault him to eventual All-Revue Team honors. Besides Durant's 29, Seattle also got 25 points from fellow first-rounder Jeff Green.
WHO'S NOT: Bulls swingman Thabo Sefolosha, a lottery pick last year, seems bored by this whole summer thing. Sefolosha shot just 1-of-6 from the field Tuesday, making him 2-for-14 in two Revue games.
NOTES
Power forward Carlos Boozer, the Jazz's leading scorer last season, issued a statement Tuesday to explain why he will not take part in USA Basketball's minicamp this weekend in Las Vegas.
"Because my wife is in the final stages of her pregnancy, I've decided to be here for her and our family,'' said Boozer, who makes his offseason home in Miami. "I'm excited for the team but I have to take care of home.''
Boozer, an Olympian in 2004, and his wife CeCe are expecting twins.
• Hawks big man Al Horford, the former University of Florida standout who looked so good in Atlanta's first two Revue games, missed his second straight game with sprained ankle. But Horford, who scored 18 when the Hawks beat Utah last Friday, might play when Atlanta faces the Jazz again on Thursday.
• Philadelphia center Jason Smith, a 2007 first-rounder, had 13 points through 20 minutes before exiting Philly's game against San Antonio with an ankle sprain. Smith is listed as "day-to-day." Missing a third straight game for the 76ers was 2006 first-rounder Rodney Carney, who is sidelined by lower back spasms.
• Jazz swingman Ronnie Brewer missed his third straight game with a strained hamstring and sprained ankle. Utah also played Seattle on Tuesday night without unrestricted free agent Rafael Araujo, who sat out due to a tendinitis in his groin that has been bothering him since the playoffs concluded. It was the first game of the Revue that Araujo, the Jazz's No. 3 center last season, did not play.
• The Revue is dark on Wednesday, but resumes with three games Thursday.
Tim Buckley covers the Utah Jazz for the Deseret Morning News.


The NBA's young stars get their first chance to shine for their teams in the 2007 Las Vegas Summer League. 