On Tuesday night, the Houston Rockets took the court against the Los Angeles Clippers, in what appeared to be just another mid-season clash between the two sides, but for one player on the court, Kevin Durant, it’d be one for the history books.
As Durant drained his shot after putting the Clippers’ Derrick Jones Jr in the mixer, it would be his 20th point of the night, but it’d be the 1000th time in his career recording a 20-point game.
This makes the 37-year-old the fourth player of all time to achieve such a feat, having him join quite the list of players as only LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Karl Malone have managed to do it up until this point.
While the two-time NBA Champion would end his night with 26 points, playing a big part in the Rockets’ win over the Clippers, this has been but one game in what has been quite the productive season for the veteran, who has recorded 20 or more points in 39 games this campaign.
Given that he made the historic list, it wouldn’t come as a surprise to find out that this is more than usual for Durant, as he’s averaged 20 or more points in every season that he’s been in the league since making his debut back in 2007 with the Seattle Supersonics.
These performances have been crucial to the Rockets’ success this season, as they are 33-19 this season, and tied for the third seed in the Western Conference with the Denver Nuggets. The former Longhorn’s arrival in the Toyota Center in the offseason came at a crucial point in time, as one of the team’s leading scorers, Fred VanVleet, has been out for the entire season recovering from a torn ACL.
While the Rockets will take to the court one more time prior to the All-Star break, it won’t be a rest period for the 37-year-old, as he will appear in his 16th All-Star break over the weekend, being a part of one of the two rosters consisting of American players for the event’s new format.
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