Thunder star Kevin Durant wins first MVP award

Kevin Durant has plenty of scoring titles. Now, he finally has an MVP trophy to go with them. The Oklahoma City Thunder star won the NBA’s top individual honor Tuesday, receiving 119 first-place votes. Miami’s LeBron James, who had won the last two MVP awards and four of the previous five, finished second with six first-place votes, and Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers was third. “Everything in my life, I had to take it,” Durant said at a ceremony in Edmond, Oklahoma. “They’re not going to give it to you out of sympathy. I wouldn’t want it any other way. This was another case, if I wanted to win the MVP, I had to go take it.” Durant won his fourth scoring crown in five years by averaging 32 points. The 6-foot-9 forward helped the Thunder go 59-23, second-best in the league. – AP