Kevin Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to reach 31,000 career points as the Houston Rockets defeated the Phoenix Suns 117-98.
The 37-year-old needed just four points to reach the milestone early in the game and took his tally to 31,000 points with a 10-foot jumper midway through the first quarter.
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Durant scored 28 points that night, bringing his total to 31,024 points, trailing only Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James on the all-time scoring list.
“When you come into the league, you look at these guys as heroes, you look at them as gods, and you look at their accomplishments as sometimes unattainable,” Durant said.
“But then you start trying to do your thing. That’s what I’ve done since 2008.
“I’ve always been focused on trying to be the best player I can be, and they set the standard for every player when they leave the league.
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“Guys like Wilt, Michael, Kobe — I miss a lot of them — they just set a standard that I try to reach every day.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo will be out for up to a month
The Milwaukee Bucks expect star Giannis Antetokounmpo to miss the next month as he recovers from a calf strain.
The Greek power forward fell to the ground on defense against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday and limped out of the game.
Preliminary scans suggest the 31-year-old could be out for between two and four weeks.
But the Bucks said they would give Antetokounmpo more time to recover given the nature of the injury.
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“I think we should learn that from Dallas — make sure they’re healthy,” Bucks coach Don Rivers said.
“So it might take longer than we want. It might even make Giannis frustrated about it, but we’ve got to work on it.”
In other games, the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics 126-105 without James and Luka Doncic.
James, 40, is still troubled by sciatica in his left foot, which caused him to miss the first 14 games of the season.
Doncic, who missed the game due to personal reasons, may return in three games against the Philadelphia 76ers this weekend.
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