Kevin Durant Scores 40 Points vs. Nuggets: Highlights and Twitter Reaction

Kevin Durant has set the bar so high for himself that when he does something to blow NBA fans away, you know something special happened.

The Oklahoma City Thunder star scored 40 points in a 124-114 win over the Denver Nuggets. The point total itself isn't the impressive part—that would be the fact that he got those 40 points on 13-of-19 shooting, including 7-of-12 from behind the arc.

The Oklahoman's Anthony Slater highlighted a two-minute stretch of game action in which the reigning Most Valuable Player scored 14 points, and CBS Sports provided an interesting take on how Durant's hand looked after his first-half performance:

According to ESPN Stats & Info, this is the third time he's scored 40 or more points on 19 shots or fewer:

Michael Lee of The Washington Post noted that a few other things Durant did won't show up in the box score:

The six-time All-Star seemingly got everything to drop, and he wasn't afraid to shoot from just about anywhere inside the half court. A three-pointer from 30 feet out? Why not? The Thunder provided highlights:

Whether the Thunder will make the playoffs has been a hotly debated topic ever since Durant and Russell Westbrook were injured earlier and missed a good chunk of the season.

After Monday night, Oklahoma City sits 10th in the Western Conference, 1.5 games back of the Phoenix Suns for the final playoff spot.

When Durant is playing this well, it's almost incomprehensible to think the Thunder could miss the postseason. He's one of the best basketball players on the planet and can single-handedly compensate for the team's few flaws.

Durant won't be able to do this every night, but when he can, the Thunder are nearly unbeatable.