Sometimes you have no choice but to acknowledge greatness.
Such was the case for those who watched Game 5 of the Nets' second-round NBA playoff series against the Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday night and witnessed Kevin Durant carry Brooklyn to victory with a performance for the ages: 49 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists.
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Durant scored 31 of those points in the second half and 20 in the fourth quarter alone to put the Nets on his back without Kyrie Irving and with a hobbled James Harden. His effort was so remarkable that even Boston Celtics big man Robert Williams -- whose team was eliminated by KD's Nets in the first round -- had to give the superstar a shout-out on Twitter. (Warning: Tweet contains NSFW language.)
That about sums it up.
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Time Lord was far from alone in his praise of Durant. Former Celtics big man and NBC Sports Boston analyst Kendrick Perkins -- who was Durant's teammate for four-plus seasons in Oklahoma City -- chimed in to call Game 5 the greatest performance of KD's career.
Ex-Celtics stars Isaiah Thomas and Paul Pierce joined several NBA notables in tweeting similar superlatives about Durant's effort.
Celtics fans probably don't feel great about the Nets dispatching their team in five games, but maybe they can take some solace in knowing that not even the Bucks and reigning NBA Defensive Player of the Year Giannis Antetokounmpo can contain Durant.