After a 133-120 loss to Golden State Saturday, the Oklahoma City Thunder had dropped five straight and eight of their last 10 games. The loss to the young Warriors marked the Thunder’s seventh straight road defeat, and they’ve fallen to 13-43 for the season.

Even as the season continues to head south, Oklahoma City scoring leader Kevin Durant keeps improving and producing in his second NBA campaign. The reigning Rookie of the Year has averaged 32.8 points per game during the team’s 2-8 slide, building on a season-long trend.

Kevin Durant’s Points per Game by Month
(with NBA rank for the month in parentheses)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FG Pct. . . . . . .Pts/G
Oct-Nov. . . . . . . . . . .456. . . . . . . 22.2 (10)
December . . . . . . . . .472. . . . . . . .25.1 (7)
January. . . . . . . . . . .494. . . . . . . .27.8 (2)*
February . . . . . . . . . .534. . . . . . . .33.2 (2)**

* Second to Dwyane Wade (28.1)
** Second to LeBron James (33.6)

The 20-year-old Durant is averaging 26.2 points a game this season, a bump over his 20.3 average as a rookie.

In the third loss of the current five-game skid -- on Feb. 21 -- Durant erupted for a career-high 47 points in a 100-98 loss to the New Orleans Hornets. He scored nearly half of his team’s points and hit a fallaway 3-pointer from the right wing with 13.8 seconds remaining to tie the game. The Hornets quickly rushed up the floor, however, and Chris Paul drove the lane for the game-winning layup.

Durant has scored more than 30 points eight times in the last 10 games, including a 31-point effort in a close 105-98 road loss to the Lakers on Feb. 10. On Tuesday the Thunder host the 46-10 Lakers, and win or lose against the NBA’s best team, it’s another chance for Durant to show he is one of the few bright spots of a difficult season.