Kevin Durant Becomes 8th NBA Player to Reach 29,000 Career Points, Helps Suns Beat Mavs

Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) celebrates their win over the Dallas Mavericks with Monte Morris (23) in an NBA basketball game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP)
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) celebrates their win over the Dallas Mavericks with Monte Morris (23) in an NBA basketball game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP)
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Kevin Durant Becomes 8th NBA Player to Reach 29,000 Career Points, Helps Suns Beat Mavs

Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) celebrates their win over the Dallas Mavericks with Monte Morris (23) in an NBA basketball game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP)
Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant (35) celebrates their win over the Dallas Mavericks with Monte Morris (23) in an NBA basketball game Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024, in 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.”



French Open Odds against Djokovic as Time Running out for Record 25th Slam

Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 26, 2025 Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts during his round of 64 match against Italy's Matteo Arnaldi REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo
Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 26, 2025 Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts during his round of 64 match against Italy's Matteo Arnaldi REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo
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French Open Odds against Djokovic as Time Running out for Record 25th Slam

Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 26, 2025 Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts during his round of 64 match against Italy's Matteo Arnaldi REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo
Tennis - Madrid Open - Park Manzanares, Madrid, Spain - April 26, 2025 Serbia's Novak Djokovic reacts during his round of 64 match against Italy's Matteo Arnaldi REUTERS/Juan Medina/File Photo

If there is one tennis player who knows how to beat the odds when they are stacked against him, it is 24-times Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

The 38-year-old Serbian's bid for a fourth French Open crown looks more unlikely than in many years, with Djokovic struggling for form since his run to the Australian Open semi-finals back in January before retiring injured.

Since then Djokovic, who has 99 tour titles to his name and is in the twilight of a glorious career, has reached only one final and has not lifted a trophy this year.

After two early losses in Monte Carlo and Madrid, it was clear that Djokovic's attempt to claim a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam could be his hardest yet, according to Reuters.

"(It is) kind of a new reality for me, I have to say, trying to win a match or two, not really thinking about getting far in the tournament," Djokovic said after his early Madrid exit.

He was expected to jumpstart his clay campaign in Rome before returning to Paris, where he won Olympic gold last year, but he skipped the Italian Open without giving a reason.

Instead he picked up a surprise wild card for the Geneva Open this week, in what looks like a last-ditch attempt to get some more matches on clay under his belt before Paris.

News of the wild card came as Djokovic split with his coach Andy Murray after only a few months working together.

Djokovic appointed fellow former world number one Murray ahead of this year's Australian Open and the Serb said at the Qatar Open in February that he would continue working with the Scot for an indefinite period.

That time, however, ended abruptly last week with the Djokovic-Murray partnership yielding no titles and one losing final in Miami.

Their partnership is now officially over as Djokovic heads towards the French Open in a cloud of uncertainty over his form and future.

The world number six has struggled to assert his dominance after winning three out of the four Grand Slams in 2023.

There is even more uncertainty over his chances of reaching the last major goal in his illustrious career: adding that elusive 25th record Grand Slam to his collection to move past Margaret Court on the all-time winners' list.