Durant still learning how to shoulder Thunder's burden

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Kevin Durant stood by his locker, looking almost unsure of his next move. Dressed and ready to go, the Thunder's hope slowly began making his way to the firing line.

He could have ducked his head and found an alternate route out of the team's plush new inner sanctuary --- a quick jab step right, to the hallway and freedom. Instead, he sauntered toward the media mass.

Clearly, Durant didn't want to talk. In a way, though, he must have, even after a performance that left him at a loss for words. His shot and poise had deserted him not long before in an overtime loss to the Lakers. But there he stood, bearing more than the weight of one setback on his rail-thin shoulders.

He let himself down. He let his teammates down. And that latter responsibility, to his teammates and, in a larger sense, to the franchise, is what's most important.

"The kind of person he is," Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti says, "allows us to build methodically."

Durant wants the pressure. He aspires to share the stage with Kobe and LeBron. He longs for the day when his team is playing in late June. So when he suffers a meltdown like Tuesday night against the Lakers, it's both surprising yet not unexpected. Cruising along with 28 points through three quarters, matching one of his basketball heroes, Kobe Bryant, shot for shot, Durant went subarctic.

His last five shots hit more air than iron. He committed three turnovers. Worse than that, he passed-up open looks and threw off-target passes.

Durant had the ball with less than 10 seconds left with the score tied at 90. Lakers center Andrew Bynum had switched and was in Durant's way. Instead of taking the burly 7-footer off the dribble, drawing a foul or just getting a closer look, Durant took his seventh 3-pointer of the night. The previous six missed. This near 30-footer never had a chance.

It was Durant's first shot since the end of the third quarter. He misfired four more times in overtime, not scoring in either the fourth or the extra session. The Thunder had fought the champs for 53 minutes. That offered little consolation for Durant.

Players his age -- Durant is 21 -- aren't supposed to hurt this much. He has another 15 years, at least, ahead to chase his NBA dreams. He has to be realistic not only about his youth and inexperience but all of it that surrounds him. There's no shame in someone just starting his third season not getting it done every night.