PHOENIX – The Phoenix Suns moved to 2-1 with a 114-102 win over the Dallas Mavericks on Saturday night – and a key player on the team also reached a historic milestone.

Kevin Durant became the 8th player in NBA history to score 29,000 career points with a pull-up three-point hit midway through the fourth quarter – joining Wilt Chamberlain, Dirk Nowitzki, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and LeBron James in a hugely exclusive club.

Durant spoke about the momentous milestone after the game and approached an evening that was supposed to be about the achievement with great appreciation and kindness.

“I’ve achieved a few milestones since I came here… I have to thank the people who helped me since I was a kid, taught me the game, teammates… I tend to think about them a lot. ..I’m grateful to have such great people in my life who help me and lift me up when I need it,” he said after the match.

Durant referenced previously passing Moses Malone, Carmelo Anthony and Shaquille O’Neal on the scoring charts while in a Suns uniform – and has collected both an All-Star and All-NBA selection since his February 2022 was taken over by Phoenix.

Suns head coach Mike Budenholzer also praised Durant’s postgame:

“What a tribute to a great generational talent. I feel incredibly lucky to be around him every day… He gets into great places to be able to shoot and score against sometimes really great defenses.”

Durant has absolutely continued to hold the league’s leading scorer status even in his age-36 season – averaging 27.5 PPG on an absurd 55.9/50/81.3 raw shooting line while seemingly thriving in the system of Budenholzer.

Durant’s next goal is to pass Chamberlain, who he currently trails by 2,409 points, and move into seventh place on the all-time list. That will certainly take some time – until then, Phoenix should enjoy the time Durant spends here as he tries to bring the city a first-ever title.

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