Kevin Durant becomes the 8th NBA player to reach 29,000 career points, helps Suns beat Mavs

AP Sports Writer

PHOENIX (AP) — Kevin Durant became the eighth player in NBA history to score 29,000 career points, reaching the mark Saturday night as his Phoenix Suns beat the Dallas Mavericks 114-102.

The 14-time All-Star scored 31 points against the Mavs and now has 29,010 points over 17 seasons with Seattle, Oklahoma City, Golden State, Brooklyn and the Suns. The 36-year-old has averaged 27.3 points over 1,064 games.

Durant has averaged at least 20 points in every season and continues to put the ball in the hoop at a high rate, scoring nearly 29 points per game through his first three games this season.

“I’ve got to give credit to the people who have helped me since I was a kid,” Durant said. “Teammates who passed me the ball, set screens for me, coaches who drew up plays for me.”

LeBron James is the NBA’s career scoring leader with 40,543 points. Behind him is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Wilt Chamberlain and then Durant. Durant is 10th on the combined NBA and ABA list, with Julius Erving eighth and Moses Malone ninth.

“What a tribute to a great, generational talent,” Suns coach Mike Budenholzer said. “I feel incredibly lucky to be around him every day.”

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