Reigning NBA Scoring Champ Kevin Durant would need to score 70 points in order to win the title for the fourth season in a row.
However, ESPN is reporting that Durant has decided to not play in Wednesday's regular season finale, meaning New York Knicks Carmelo Anthony will be named scoring champion for the 2012-13 season.
Durant trails Anthony, who is averaging 28.7 points, for the league scoring lead. Durant, averaging 28.1 points per game, has appeared in every game this season, while Anthony missed 14 games this season.
Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks had already hinted that Durant would not play against the Bucks, but has also praised his star forward for his unselfish play this season, claiming that the All-Star forward recently had focused more on distributing the ball.
"I give Kevin a lot of credit," Brooks said, according to the Oklahoman, "because maybe 10 games ago, if he was really focused on trying to get it four years in a row, he could have got it easily.
"Many times ... he was trying to get a triple-double. And when you try to get 10 assists, that means you're not trying to score."
Durant would have joined Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players in NBA history to lead the league in scoring four straight seasons.
If he managed the 70 points he would have joined the likes of San Antonio Spurs' center David Robinson and Denver Nuggets David Thompson as the only players to score 70 or more to win the scoring title. Robinson scored 71 on the last day of the 1993-94 season to edge Shaquille O'Neal for the scoring crown, while Thompson scored 73 in the last game of the 1978-79 season to take the scoring lead, only to see San Antonio's George Gervin drop 63 later that night to capture the title.
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