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Kevin Durant scored 28 points to become the eighth player in NBA history to score 31,000 career points as the Houston Rockets cruised to a 117-98 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.
Durant now joins an exclusive club that includes Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Dirk Nowitzki and Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
Friday’s game was Durant’s first game against his former team since a blockbuster seven-team trade that sent Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to the Suns. Durant missed Houston’s 114-92 win at Phoenix on Nov. 24 due to personal reasons.
Amen Thompson scored a season-high 31 to help the Rockets to their fifth win in six games.
Durant made two free throws for his first points of the night and hit a mid-range jumper midway through the first quarter that gave the 15-time All-Star the historic milestone. Durant, who did not play in the fourth quarter, has 31,024 career points.
The Rockets trailed by as many as nine points early, but used a 44-point second quarter, fueled by 17 points from Durant, to take the lead.
Houston led by 11 with about 7 ½ minutes left in the third before using a 16-2 run to make the score 92-67 with about two minutes left in the fourth. Thompson scored six points in that stretch and Durant and Reed Sheppard hit 3-pointers for Houston. Phoenix had five turnovers during the streak.
Brooks scored 23 points to lead the Suns, who lost for the third time in four games.
Houston played without Alperen Sengun, who missed the game due to illness. Steven Adams started in his place and had four points and eight rebounds.
The Rockets played a tribute video for Brooks during pregame introductions and played one for Green, who is out with a hamstring injury, between the first and second quarters. Both players received a warm ovation from the public at the end of their videos.
Green spent his first four seasons in Houston after being selected second overall in the 2021 draft by the club and Brooks spent the previous two seasons with the Rockets.
Next
Soles: Visit the Timberwolves on Monday night.
Rockets: Visit the Mavericks on Saturday night.
Information from The Associated Press.
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