Thunder's Kevin Durant Wins Scoring Title by 3rd-Highest Margin Since 1970

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant scored 42 points Wednesday against the Detroit Pistons to clinch his fourth career NBA scoring title. Durant averaged a career-high 32.0 points per game this season, which was 4.6 points more than second-place finisher Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks. It is the third-highest margin between the top two scorers in the league since 1970, per ESPN Stats & Info.

Hall of Famer Michael Jordan set the record for the highest margin, when he averaged 37.1 points per game during the 1986-87 season, 8.1 more points than Dominique Wilkins' 29.0 per game. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is second on the list, having scored 34.8 points per game in 1971-72, 6.6 ahead of Tiny Archibald's 28.2.

With his 42 points Wednesday, Durant finishes the regular season with 2,593 points, the 18th-highest total in a single season in league history, and only three points behind Abdul-Jabbar's 2,596 (1970-71) for 17th.

Durant has now won four of the last five scoring titles, finishing 0.6 points behind Anthony last season.

It has been a very successful year for Durant and the Thunder, who finished the regular season at 59-23, winning the Northwest Division and clinching the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. They will open their postseason Saturday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, and OKC fans will be glad to have the game's most prolific active scorer on their side.