2012 NBA Playoffs: Ranking The Best Individual Playoff Performances After Day Twenty Nine

Day Twenty Nine of the 2012 postseason is already in the books. In the course of it, the Spurs and Thunder battled out in San Antonio where the first managed to get the win. The hometown team increased their lead to 2-0 in the series against the young Thunder.

That being said, some players marked this playoff day with strong performances of their own. Who ranks on top? Without any further ado, here's the list.


3. James Harden

The reigning Sixth Man Of The Year winner, who after the slow start bounced back, had yet another great performance. James Harden provided the needed spark off the bench for his Thunder with an outstanding game of his own, but it wasn't enough as they failed on the road.

James was aggressive throughout the entire time and found his rhythm. He scored in bunches, was excellent with his shot, involved the open man, played solid defense and was decent on the glass. It's been easily his top all-around display of the playoffs so far and the stats certainly back that up.

Harden scored 30 points, pulled down seven boards, dished out four assists, recorded two steals, shot 10-13 from the field, 0-1 from distance and 10-13 from the charity in 33 minutes of action. Stat wise, this was a great performance by him and it deserves to be mentioned, despite the loss.



2. Kevin Durant

We continue from one Thunder star to another. Much like his teammate Harden, he was superb throughout the entire game and was one of the reason why there was a second consecutive dramatic match in this tough series. Despite the loss, Kevin Durant has to be applauded for his effort and strong performance.

The tall forward was all over the court, as he did nearly everything well out there. Kevin scored in bunches, found his rhythm with his shot, was decent on the glass, involved the open man and played solid defense. He was efficient from the field as well. The statistics certainly prove that up.

Durant poured in 31 points, pulled down five rebounds, dished out five assists, had three steals, swatted two shots, committed three turnovers, shot 10-17 from the field, 3-4 from three point land and 8-8 from the free throw line in 41 minutes of action. From a statistical point of view, that was another brilliant display from him.


1. Tony Parker

The No.1 spot this time goes to the Spurs' floor general who's been absolutely brilliant throughout the entire postseason, Tony Parker. The Frenchman continued in a similar fashion, as he exploded for an outstanding performance to lead his team to a win over the visiting Thunder at home.

Tony, much like all the other players on this list, showed aggressiveness and determines throughout the game which gave him only positive results. He got to the rim, scored in bunches, found the open man and was a trouble for OKC the whole time. He put his team on the back and carried them.

The stats show his excellence. Parker ended up with 34 points, recorded eight dimes, pulled down three boards, committed two turnovers, shot 16-21 from the field, 1-2 from three point land, 1-2 from the stripe in 39 minutes. Statistically speaking, this has also been his best performance of the postseason as well.

Darko Mihajlovski is a columnist at FootBasket. He also contributes to Hoops-Nation. You can read more about him at our Staff page.