The Houston Rockets are in a strong position currently. They have a 37–21 record and are third in the Western Conference standings. That’s a great place to be as the playoff race heats up.
Their latest 113–108 win over the Orlando Magic on February 26 was especially meaningful. It was not just because of the result. But because 37-year-old superstar Kevin Durant made history with a season-high scoring night.
Kevin Durant Makes History on Thursday Night
Durant dropped 40 points against the Magic on Thursday night. As a result, he became just the sixth player in NBA history to reach 32,000 career points. But he did not stop there.
That performance also tied him with the late, great Kobe Bryant for the fifth-most 30-point games in NBA history. Durant now has 431 games with 30 or more points to his name. The only players ahead of him are the likes of LeBron James, who sits at the very top of that list with 575 such games.
On top of all that, since the New Year, only Tyrese Maxey has scored more total points than Durant in the entire league. Now, for a 37-year-old, that is honestly remarkable.
Durant entered the NBA back in 2007. It was when the Seattle SuperSonics selected him with the second overall pick in the draft. He went from Seattle to Oklahoma City, then to Golden State, where he won two championships, then to Brooklyn, and then to Phoenix.
His time with the Suns, however, did not end on the best note. After Phoenix failed to make the playoffs following the 2024-25 season, things grew tense. There were reports of bitterness on both sides. Eventually, it all led to a blockbuster seven-team trade that brought Durant to the Houston Rockets in the 2025 offseason.
Just a few weeks ago, Durant made yet another piece of history when he was selected as an All-Star. He became the oldest player in the Rockets franchise history to earn an All-Star nod. He actually surpassed both Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon, who were both 34 when they made the All-Star team back in 1997.
Now, as for Thursday’s game itself, it was not exactly a smooth ride for the Rockets. They had a slow start and trailed by 7 points after the first quarter. Things did not get much better going into halftime either. It is because they were still down by 10 points.
But in the second half, the Rockets came out with a completely different energy, scoring 70 points, more than enough to flip the game on its head and walk away with a victory.
Now, the Rockets will look to carry this momentum into their matchup against the Miami Heat on Saturday, February 28.
