OKLAHOMA CITY -- In accepting his first MVP award, Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant made a point of sharing the honour with those who made it possible. In a soul-baring speech that lasted more than 25 minutes, Durant fought back tears several times while thanking each of his teammates, the coaches, support staff and team executives, and finally his family. The emotional outpouring culminated with a tribute to his mother, Wanda Pratt, and the sacrifices she made, the inspiration she provided while raising Durant and his brother in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. "You made us believe," Durant said to Pratt, who was at the ceremony in Edmond, Oklahoma. "Kept us off the street. Put clothes on our backs, food on the table. When you didnt eat, you made sure we ate. You sacrificed for us. Youre the real MVP." Durant explained that Pratt was a single mother with two boys, and though times were tough while growing up, Pratt always thought something better was ahead. Durant said to appreciate moments like these, he often looks back to gain perspective. "One of the best memories I had is when we moved into our first apartment," he said as tears streamed down Pratts face. "No bed, no furniture, and we just all sat in the living room and hugged each other, cause thats when we all thought we made it." Hes really made it now. The young man who said he was told he "wasnt supposed to be here" won the NBAs top individual honour Tuesday, receiving 119 first-place votes. Miamis 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. Durant, 25, called it "surreal" and at one point, as he thanked his teammates, he stopped and said, "I dont know why Im crying so much." "Everything in my life, I had to take it," Durant said. "Theyre not going to give it to you out of sympathy. I wouldnt want it any other way. This was another case, if I wanted to win the MVP, I had to go take it. I felt that this was the year I did that." During a speech in which Durant revealed a humility and vulnerability rarely displayed by a professional athlete, he also drew some laughs. "I could walk in and have a terrible day and I could see Hasheem (Thabeet) smiling at me, at 7-foot-3 with small pants on," he said. "That would change my day." Durant mentioned qualities about each teammate, showing respect for the veterans who challenge him and the rookies who inspire him to do things the right way because they look up to him. "I go home and I think about that stuff, man," he said. "When youve got people behind you, you can do whatever." 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, despite playing much of the season without three-time All-Star Russell Westbrook because of a nagging knee injury. "Hes basically put himself in front of everybody else in the league and shown that hes the best player in the world," Westbrook said at the end of the regular season. James agreed, saying Monday: "Much respect to him and he deserves it. He had a big-time MVP season." Durants run of 41 consecutive games this season with at least 25 points was the third-longest streak in NBA history. "It was a two-man race, and then toward the end, it was kind of a no-brainer," Griffin said. James averaged 27.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and 6.3 assists while shooting nearly 57 per cent from the field. Griffin averaged 24.1 points and 10.1 rebounds. Durant scored at least 40 points 14 times. He also averaged 7.4 rebounds and a career-high 5.5 assists while shooting 50 per cent from the field. While Westbrook was out after his most recent knee surgery, Durant averaged 35 points and 6.3 assists as the Thunder went 20-7 and remained among the leagues elite. Teammates and opponents say Durant became a more complete player this season. They praised him for improving his court vision, consistently making the extra pass and moving more efficiently without the ball. "I think we take it for granted," teammate Nick Collison said. "To be able to stay on for long periods of time -- have to cut hard, catch the ball in the right spot and defend on the other end -- is tough to do. To be able to show that shows that he has an edge to him. He doesnt take a night off." Though Durants consistency stood out this season, he had several exceptional games. He scored 48 points on Jan. 4 at Minnesota, then scored 48 again two games later at Utah. He scored a career-high 54 points in a home win against Golden State on Jan. 17 and two games later scored 46 at home in a victory against Portland. Two games after that, he had a triple-double -- 32 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists -- in a win at Philadelphia, and he followed that with 41 points in a victory over Atlanta. He scored 51 points at Toronto on March 21 in a staggering 53 minutes and hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 1.7 seconds left in double overtime. He capped it off in the season finale by scoring 21 of his 42 points in the fourth quarter against Detroit and winning the game with a dunk with 16.5 seconds left. The Thunder overcame a 10-point deficit in the quarter to clinch the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. "I put in so much work and so many people helped me," he said. "I feel like we all won it. Our equipment guy gave me a hug today and said, This is my first MVP, and I thought about that. And I said, Yeah, this is our first MVP. I couldnt have done it without the teammates, without the trainer. Everybody. We all just did this together." Wholesale NMD R1 . Particularly when speaking in the stadium of Tuesdays opponent: Manchester City. "Maybe they dont fear us as before," Pique said on Monday, "because in the last two years we didnt win the Champions League. NMD R2 Australia . Needing to bulk up on both sides of the line, the Falcons agreed to terms with guard Jon Asamoah, defensive end Tyson Jackson and defensive tackle Paul Soliai. Asamoah and Jackson played last season with Kansas City, where Asamoah lost his starting job. http://www.nmdaustraliasale.com/ultra-bo...ustralia/4.html. -- The Oakland Athletics and free agent right-hander Bartolo Colon have agreed to terms on a US$2 million, one-year contract, bolstering their depleted starting rotation. NMD R1 Mens Australia . The Vancouver coach and an announced sellout crowd of 18,910 watched in dismay as the Canucks lost 7-4 to the New York Islanders on Monday night by squandering a 3-0 lead in the third period. NMD XR1 Australia . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell.Minneapolis, MN (SportsNetwork.com) - Marc Lovings floater in the final seconds of overtime gave No. 22 Ohio State a 74-72 win over Minnesota on Tuesday. DAngelo Russell scored 25 of his game-high 27 points in the first half. Loving added 13 points for the Buckeyes (13-3, 2-1 Big Ten), who ended Minnesotas 14-game home win streak. With time winding down in overtime, Loving came off a curl on the left side of the court, caught a feed from Sam Thompson and got a one-handed push shot to fall. Minnesota had a timeout left but opted not to use it, instead rushing the ball up the court. Thompson deflected a pass, knocking the ball towards midcourt, and the clock hit zero before Minnesotas desperation heave. Maurice Walker tallied 18 points and nine rebounds and DeAndre Mathieu scored 17 for Minnesota (11-5, 0-3). Theyre all tough. You know, a loss is a loss in my book and everyone just wants to win, so its tough, said Walker. The Gophers chipped away from a 12-point halftime deficit, eventually tying the game with 6:20 remaining. The Buckeyes led by seven when Amir Williams was handed a technical foul after getting whistled for a shooting foul that he disagreed with. Four free throws and a Joey King 3-pointer later, and the game was knotted at 60. That ttechnical foul was huge.dddddddddddd I think that that was kind of a turning point, said Ohio State coach Thad Matta. It was 66-66 late when Russell was stripped on a drive to the basket. Williams came up with the loose ball and could have won it for OSU, but his point-blank layup hit back rim and bounced off. Leading by three late in the extra session, Russell lost the ball again driving to the basket. This time Minnesota came up with it, and Nate Mason drove past Williams for a layup plus a foul. His free throw tied it at 72. Minnesota scored on four of its first six possessions and led 9-5. Then, the future lottery pick Russell went to work. Consecutive 3s by the star freshman highlighted a 12-0 run that Thompson capped with a transition layup. Minnesota rattled off seven straight later to tie it at 21, but Russell scored 14 of the next 16 OSU points. His field goals around the final media timeout of the half were part of an 8-0 run -- which included a Loving tip-slam just before the buzzer -- and the Buckeyes led 41-29 at halftime. Game Notes Shannon Scott had nine points and 10 assists for Ohio State ... Minnesota has lost three straight games to open Big Ten conference play ... Both teams had 14 turnovers. ' ' '