PORTLAND, Ore. — Kevin Durant passed Wilt Chamberlain for seventh on the NBA’s career scoring list when he hit a 3-pointer in the third quarter of the Houston Rockets‘ 111-105 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night.
Durant needed 15 points going into the game to eclipse Chamberlain, who scored 31,419 points. Durant’s jumper with 7:57 left in the third gave him 31,422. He finished with 30 points on the night.
Dirk Nowitzki is sixth on the career list with 31,560 points.
Durant, 37, is in his 18th NBA season and is a 15-time All-Star. He also surpassed 8,000 career rebounds Friday night.
«No, it doesn’t amaze me when you see the work ethic and what he does on a day-to-day basis,» Rockets coach Ime Udoka said before Friday night’s game about Durant’s impending milestone.
Blazers coach Tiago Splitter said he remembered being impressed by Durant when he was a young player with Oklahoma City.
«Just a young Kevin Durant, scoring 30 every night, and he just keeps doing that, which is amazing,» Splitter said. «At his age, of course, he’s probably at the end of his career, but just doing that every night is just impressive.»
When the milestone was announced to fans at the Moda Center, Durant was rewarded with warm applause and a hug from Splitter.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
