Kevin Durant passes Dirk Nowitzki for sixth on NBA career scoring list

Cbssports reported that with 15.2 seconds remaining in the Houston Rockets' win over the New Orleans Pelicans at the Toyota Center on Sunday, Kevin Durant made a free throw to pass Dirk Nowitzki and move into sixth on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Durant now has 31,562 career points and needs 731 to pass Michael Jordan (32,292) and reach the top five. He reached the milestone despite a subpar performance against the Pelicans (18 points on 5-of-18 shooting). This season he is averaging 26.1 points per game on 51/39.3/88.7 shooting splits; at that pace he would need about 29 more games to pass Jordan, and with the Rockets having 42 games remaining and assuming he stays healthy he should move ahead in mid- to late-March.

Beyond Jordan, Durant would need 2,081 points to catch Kobe Bryant and 5,366 to reach Karl Malone, which the piece says could require playing into his 40s and "whether he'll be willing or able to play that long remains to be seen." Durant reflected on joining Nowitzki on the list and his future, saying in part, "I want to continue to keep stacking, keep climbing up the charts, just see how I finish. It's been amazing so far."

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Sports, Kevin Durant, Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone