Durant overtakes Nowitzki for No. 6 spot on NBA career scoring chart
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HOUSTON — Kevin Durant moved into sixth place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list Sunday night, finishing with 18 points in the Houston Rockets’ 119-110 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
The 15-time All-Star entered the game at Toyota Center needing 17 points to pass Dirk Nowitzki. He reached the mark on a pair of free throws with 15.2 seconds remaining, pushing his career total to 31,562 — two ahead of Nowitzki’s 31,560. Michael Jordan is next on the chart at 32,292.
“To be up there with Dirk, somebody I looked up to and competed against, is just insane,” Durant said. “And to be right under Michael Jordan, it’s crazy. I want to keep climbing and see how I finish.”
Durant’s scoring surge was noted by his teammates, though the forward treated the milestone with his usual composure. “He’s passing people nightly,” Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr. said. “He doesn’t celebrate it; he’s just out there hooping, and it happens organically.”
Durant and Nowitzki shared several postseason battles, most notably the 2011 Western Conference finals, when Nowitzki’s Dallas Mavericks beat Durant’s Oklahoma City Thunder 4-1 en route to the franchise’s first championship. The following season, the Thunder swept the Mavericks in the first round.
“There were times going into a series I hated Dirk,” Durant recalled. “I’m sure it was vice versa. But I tried to emulate as much as I could from him — the respect he had in this league.”
After the game, a congratulatory video from Nowitzki played on the arena boards. “He’s one of the purest scorers this game has ever seen,” Nowitzki said, urging Durant to “move up a couple more spots.” Durant called the message “pretty cool” and praised Nowitzki’s humility.
Durant and the Rockets resume play Tuesday when they host the Phoenix Suns.
Source: ESPN
