Ime Udoka had words of praise for Kevin Durant following the veteran star's career milestone in the Houston Rockets' blowout win over the Phoenix Suns on Friday night.
Durant is going through the 19th year of his legendary career, his first with the Rockets. He stands out as one of the best scorers in NBA history, being in the exclusive club of 30,000 career regular-season points.
Going into the game against Phoenix, Durant had 30,996 points and counting. He needed four points to surpass the milestone and get closer to his pursuit of Wilt Chamberlain on the all-time list.
Safe to say he achieved the feat. In 32 minutes of action, he finished with a stat line of 28 points, eight assists, four rebounds, three steals, and a block. He shot 11-of-17 from the field, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line.
Udoka reflected on his star's accomplishment after the game. He praised Durant for his longevity, seeing how he pulled it off for a long period of time.
“To be able to do this with the longevity, and at this high level, it's incredible,” Udoka said.
“To be able to do this with the longevity, and at this high level, it's incredible.”
Ime Udoka had nothing but praise for Kevin Durant after he passed 31k career points 🙏🏽
(via @NBA)
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 6, 2025
How Kevin Durant, Rockets played against Suns
It's clear that Ime Udoka has a lot of confidence in Kevin Durant being reliable as one of the best scorers. This was certainly the case as Durant led the Rockets to a 117-98 win over the Suns.
Houston got off to a slow start as the team trailed 31-24 after the first quarter. They boomed from there on, outscoring Phoenix 73-41 in the second and third periods as their opponents never recovered from that run.
Shot selection, perimeter shooting and ball movement made the difference in this matchup. The Rockets dominated in all three categories by making 59% of their total shots, knocking down 10 3-pointers, and creating 25 assists. It wasn't the same for the Suns as they made just 39% of their chances, converted five triples, and dished out 14 assists.
Five players scored in double-digits for Houston in the win, including Durant. Amen Thompson led the team in scoring with 31 points on 12-of-17 shooting overall and 6-of-6 from charity stripe. Jabari Smith Jr. came next with 16 points and two rebounds. Meanwhile, Aaron Holiday and Reed Sheppard provided 10 points each.
Houston improved to a 15-5 record on the season, holding the second spot in the Western Conference standings. They are even with the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets while trailing the Oklahoma City Thunder by 5.5 games.
The Rockets will look forward to their next matchup, being on the road. They face the Dallas Mavericks on Dec. 6 at 8:30 p.m. ET.
