Kevin Durant fired 26 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 102-95 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. Alperen Sengun added 22 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists, Amen Thompson contributed 16 points and 6 boards, and Reed Sheppard put up 16 more off the bench as the Rockets won for the seventh time in ten games.
Kawhi Leonard had 24 points to lead the Clippers, who were down by just six to start the fourth quarter, only to give up the first seven points. Josh Collins was the only other Clipper to finish in double digits with 18. The new-look Clips are now 2-3 in their last five games.
History for Kevin Durant
With his latest 20-piece, Kevin Durant made history again this season as he became only the fourth player in NBA history to score at least 20 points in 1,000 regular-season games. LeBron James is at the head of this exclusive list with 1,309 games scoring at least 20. Next is Karl Malone (1,134), followed by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,122).
This is Kevin Durant’s latest scoring milestone this season. Back in January, the Slim Reaper passed legends Dirk Nowitzki and Wilt Chamberlain to climb to sixth all-time in career points. Counting his 26 against the Clippers, Durant’s total is now up to 31,841, or just 451 points away from tying Michael Jordan at 32,292.
Durant has played in 48 of Houston’s 52 games this season and is currently averaging 25.9 points on 51% shooting overall and 40.4% from distance. If he continues at this pace, he will likely pass Jordan as the fifth all-time leading scorer in the NBA and add to his 20-point games total as well.
