{"id":546796,"date":"2026-01-19T14:10:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T14:10:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/546796\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T14:10:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T14:10:34","slug":"rockets-win-second-straight-game-as-kevin-durant-passes-dirk-nowitzki-on-all-time-scoring-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/546796\/","title":{"rendered":"Rockets Win Second Straight Game As Kevin Durant Passes Dirk Nowitzki On All-Time Scoring List"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Houston Rockets<\/a> earned their second straight win, spearheading a 119-110 victory, and for much of the second half, it was clear that they were the deeper and more talented team when compared to the New Orleans Pelicans. Jabari Smith Jr.<\/a> had a monster 32-point night to lead Houston, but the story of the night belongs to Kevin Durant<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Easily one of the greatest individual players to have ever played, Durant reminded us how his legacy remains intact by passing Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki<\/a> for sixth in all-time scoring. For anyone who forgot, Durant will likely be in fifth place at the very least before the season is up, passing Michael Jordan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Durant will obviously be more thrilled with the win, and the Rockets showed that when their three-pointers are falling, they are hard to beat. Now, onto the key takeaways of this matchup.<\/p>\n

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1. Durant Makes History, Even On A Grinding Night<\/p>\n

Kevin Durant didn\u2019t need a vintage shooting performance to make history, but he still found a way to leave his mark. Durant finished with 18 points on 5-of-18 shooting, passing Dirk Nowitzki on the NBA\u2019s all-time scoring list in the process. It wasn\u2019t one of his cleaner nights from the field, especially from deep, where he went 1-of-8, yet the significance of the moment carried weight throughout the arena.<\/p>\n

What stood out was how Durant impacted the game even when his jumper wasn\u2019t falling. He added eight assists, six rebounds, and drew consistent defensive attention that opened the floor for others. Houston didn\u2019t force the offense through him once the shots weren\u2019t there, a sign of maturity from both Durant and the coaching staff. History was made, and the Rockets still kept their offensive balance intact.<\/p>\n

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2. Jabari Smith Jr. Delivered His Best All-Around Night<\/p>\n

Jabari Smith Jr. was the offensive engine Houston leaned on, pouring in 32 points on 11-of-21 shooting while drilling seven of his 13 attempts from three. He spaced the floor relentlessly, punished late closeouts, and consistently swung momentum whenever New Orleans threatened to hang around. Smith\u2019s confidence was evident early, and it only grew as the night went on.<\/p>\n

Beyond the scoring, Smith added eight rebounds and posted a game-best plus-17 in 41 minutes. His ability to stretch the Pelicans\u2019 defense forced rotations that created driving lanes for Amen Thompson<\/a> and post touches for Alperen Sengun<\/a>. This was the kind of performance Houston envisioned when investing in Smith as a foundational piece.<\/p>\n

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3. Sengun And Thompson Controlled The Middle Of The Game<\/p>\n

Alperen Sengun quietly put together another efficient outing, finishing with 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds and handing out four assists. He consistently punished single coverage in the post and showed quick hands defensively with five steals, disrupting New Orleans\u2019 rhythm whenever they tried to initiate offense through the paint.<\/p>\n

Amen Thompson complemented him perfectly, tallying 20 points on an ultra-efficient 10-of-14 from the floor, along with eight rebounds and six assists. Thompson\u2019s pace and decisiveness were critical, especially during Houston\u2019s second-half surge. Together, Sengun and Thompson stabilized the game when it threatened to get physical and choppy.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

4. Hustle And Extra Possessions Tilted The Outcome<\/p>\n

While the Pelicans held their own offensively, Houston\u2019s work on the glass and energy plays made the difference. The Rockets won the rebounding battle 47-39 and dominated the offensive boards 17-10, creating repeated second-chance opportunities that wore New Orleans down over four quarters.<\/p>\n

Steven Adams chipped in 10 rebounds in just 27 minutes, while the Rockets\u2019 collective effort led to a 19-point largest lead and control for 90% of the game. Houston didn\u2019t overwhelm New Orleans with pace or shooting volume. They simply stayed connected, attacked the margins, and capitalized on effort plays. In a game where Durant reached a historic milestone, it was the Rockets\u2019 collective grind that sealed their second straight win.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Houston Rockets earned their second straight win, spearheading a 119-110 victory, and for much of the second…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":546797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3794],"tags":[7,292,194,4066,6,211],"class_list":{"0":"post-546796","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston-rockets","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-houston","10":"tag-houston-rockets","11":"tag-houstonrockets","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-rockets"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/115922170007700010","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=546796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/546796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/546797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=546796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=546796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=546796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}