The clock struck 3 a.m., and Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant stayed wide awake.

He wanted to sleep, but his mind raced. Durant wondered the different ways he could carve up defenses with his prolific scoring. Durant also worried about further elevating his teammates.

Durant then texted a friend, who both would have answers and be up at an ungodly hour.

Kobe Bryant.

“I was picking his brain a little bit. He’s one of those guys who’s a night owl so he picked the phone up,” Durant said of the Lakers’ star. “That’s something I’ll always remember. When we play each other, it’s better now that we have that relationship because there’s always bragging rights.”

Durant easily won the bragging rights this season. Bryant has played in only six games amid injuries to his left Achilles tendon and fractured left knee, and, as it was announced Wednesday, won’t return this season.

The Lakers (22-42) also enter tonight’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder (47-17) at Chesapeake Energy Arena destined to miss the playoffs for only the fifth time in franchise history.

Meanwhile, Durant leads the NBA in scoring (a career-high 31.7 points per game) while averaging a career-high 5.6 assists. With Durant and Miami’s LeBron James competing for the MVP award, Thunder coach Scott Brooks predicted “they’re going to be in that talk for the next 10 years.” Durant also could win his first NBA championship in his seven-year career.

Durant downplayed the MVP race with James, saying, “I want to be known as a winner.” But Durant described himself as a basketball historian, visiting Wikipedia every day to read up on NBA greats, ranging from Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Clyde Drexler, Adrian Dantley and Bryant. And from their time together on one U.S. Olympic team, three joint All-Star appearances and late-night phone calls, Durant strongly credits Bryant’s unspecified feedback for spurring his development.

“He’s the greatest of all time. His skill is second to none. Him and MJ are neck and neck as far as skill,” Durant said. “Kobe is the top two best ever in just having skill, footwork, shooting the 3, shooting the pull-up, posting up, dunking on guys and ball handling. Kobe and Jordan are 1 and 1A.”

As for Durant? He possesses traits that tap into Bryant’s mindset. Durant fits in three workouts each day in the offseason. He insists on playing pick-up games so he feels less mechanical. Durant talks to other icons, such as boxing great Muhammad Ali, to seek inspiration.

“The thing that KD and Kobe have is their ability every night to do it,” Brooks said. “That is a talent that people do not ever bring up enough. It’s their ability to want to do it every single night for 82 games.”

Durant has led the league with 11 40-point games this season, including one against the Lakers. He became the third NBA player in the past 30 years to score at least 30 points in 12 consecutive games. Should his numbers hold up, Durant will also represent one of seven NBA players along with Jordan, James, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson to average 31 points, seven rebounds and five assists in a season.

“I’m going to come back next year and have no idea how he’s going to get better,” said Brooks, who also praised Durant’s defense and leadership. “But he’s going to figure out ways to improve. It’s mind boggling.”

Meanwhile, Bryant climbed to fourth place on the NBA’s all-time leading scoring list partly through miraculous feats in the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons. He posted 62 points through three quarters against Dallas on Dec. 20, 2005, including a franchise record 30 points in the third quarter. Bryant’s career-high 81 points set Jan. 22, 2006 against Toronto trails only Chamberlain’s 100-point game with Philadelphia against the New York Knicks on March 2, 1962. Bryant’s career-high 35.4 points per game average in the 2005-06 season represented the eighth-highest scoring average in league history. The following season, Bryant became the second player in NBA history to score at least 50 points in four consecutive games.

“When you look at me, Carmelo (Anthony), LeBron and Paul George, what we’ve done out there in this league is nothing compared to what Kobe did,” Durant said. “We live in a world of what have you done for me lately. We don’t remember the day before sometimes. Think back five, six, years ago what he was doing. It’s unheard of.”

Both Brooks and Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni tout Bryant as physically stronger despite his 6-foot-6, 206-pound body falling short of Durant’s 6-9, 240-pound frame. But Brooks equally gushed about Bryant and Durant scoring in a variety of ways on isolation plays, on post-ups, along the elbows, attacking the basket and earning trips to the foul line.

“There is a supreme confidence that every time they walk in the gym, they feel they’re the best player on the planet no matter who else is out there,” said Thunder guard Derek Fisher, who teamed with Bryant on the Lakers to win five NBA titles. “That alone is what separates guys from everybody else. It’s not because they’re the fastest, tallest, strongest or can shoot the best. It’s the mentality.”

Bryant offered a similar assessment last season on both Durant and Thunder guard Russell Westbrook reminding them of his young self. Did they learn that mindset from Bryant?

“For sure,” he said. “They watched me growing up and saw how I dealt with criticism and all this other stuff. I just put my head down and kept playing … They’re cut from the same cloth.”

The scrutiny Durant currently faces entails to what degree he’s consumed with matching James’ exploits for the MVP award. Bryant has fielded such criticism for his high-volume shooting for most of his career. Incidentally, Bryant sat out the season-finale three years ago to rest up for the playoffs, ceding to Durant a third consecutive league scoring title. A day after James scored 62 points this season, Durant responded with 42 points and then sat for the entire fourth quarter.

“If he wanted to score a bunch of points or more than he’s scoring now, he could do that,” Brooks said. “Kevin is really focused on helping us win games.”

Accounts describe Durant as more laid back, outgoing and interactive with teammates than the demanding Bryant. Yet, Durant’s on-court personality mirrors Bryant.

“I’m going to go at him when I’m on the court,” Durant said of Bryant. “We’re going to throw elbows and talk trash. We’re going to talk (junk) to each other. I think he appreciates that’s how I play. I may be wrong. But I can sense when a guy has that mutual respect. I don’t give a damn who he is. He don’t give a damn who I am. We’re going to go at it.”

And when Durant’s off the court? Well, Durant lives with the comfort Bryant remains a phone call away. No matter what hour in the day.