Kevin Durant passes Dirk Nowitzki for sixth on NBA scoring list

Kevin Durant delivered different milestone Sunday night, moving past Dirk Nowitzki into sixth spot connected the NBA’s all-time scoring database aft a 119-110 triumph implicit the New Orleans Pelicans.

Durant entered the crippled needing 17 points to walk Nowitzki. He finished with 18, sealing it with 2 escaped throws with 15.2 seconds left. The 15-time All-Star present has 31,562 vocation points, 2 much than Nowitzki (31,560). Michael Jordan sits 5th astatine 32,292.

Durant passes his idol, with Jordan present next

"To beryllium up determination with Dirk, idiosyncratic I looked up to, I idolized, I competed against," Durant said. "We had immoderate large battles. He ever was supportive of my vocation and my game. So, you cognize to beryllium up determination with a fable similar that, it's conscionable insane. And beryllium close nether Michael Jordan, it's brainsick man.

"I privation to proceed to support stacking, support climbing up the charts, conscionable spot however I finish. It's been astonishing truthful far."

Those astir him spot the aforesaid dependable approach, adjacent arsenic the numbers heap up.

"He's passing radical nightly," Rockets guardant Jabari Smith Jr. said of Durant. "He's passing radical successful each category. He conscionable keeps accomplishing milestones, and helium conscionable acts similar it's nothing. He doesn't observe it. He wasn't retired determination trying to hunt and spell get it. He's conscionable retired determination hooping, and it conscionable happens organically.

"He's a testament of what a hoops subordinate is expected to be."

Old battles, existent respect

Durant besides looked backmost astatine the years erstwhile the matchups felt personal, including the 2011 Western Conference finals erstwhile Nowitzki’s Mavericks bushed Durant’s Oklahoma City squad 4-1 and went connected to triumph the franchise’s archetypal NBA title. The adjacent season, Durant and the Thunder swept Dallas successful the playoffs.

"There were times going into a bid I hated Dirk, you cognize what I'm saying. I'm definite it was vice versa," Durant said.

After the game, Nowitzki sent a video connection shown connected the arena board.

"It's been unthinkable to ticker his career," Nowitzki said successful the video. "Like I said, he's 1 of the purest scorers this crippled has ever seen. And so, congrats KD, support it going. Move up a mates much spots and support it up."

"For him to instrumentality clip retired of his time to nonstop maine a connection connected passing him connected the charts is beauteous cool," Durant said. "It speaks to however humble Dirk is."