Kevin Durant became the fifth-highest scorer in NBA history this Saturday by surpassing Michael Jordan's 32,292 points in the victory of his Houston Rockets, who are fighting for third place in the West against the Lakers, who secured their ninth straight win with a game-winning three-pointer from Luke Kennard at the buzzer. The Lakers won in Orlando in LeBron James' 1,612th career game, surpassing Robert Parish's record. The LA team defended their third place, though they remain far behind the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs, who continue to win game after game. Durant surpassed Jordan's mark by scoring 27 points in the hard-fought 123-122 victory for the Houston Rockets at home against the Miami Heat. The 37-year-old former Golden State Warriors player hit five three-pointers and finished the game 9-for-17 from the field. In another game, Oklahoma City Thunder secured their eleventh consecutive win with a 132-111 victory over the modest Washington Wizards, who lost for the fifteenth straight time. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had another outstanding performance with 40 points and extended his streak of games with 20 or more points to 131 games. The game was marked by a brawl that occurred just before halftime, sparked by a verbal altercation between Jaylin Williams and Justin Champagnie, in which almost all players were involved after Champagnie touched Ajay Mitchell's face. Gilgeous-Alexander had to drag Mitchell away towards the tunnel once he got him out of the fray. The referees ejected him along with his teammates Jaylin Williams and Cason Wallace, as well as Champagnie from the Wizards. They also gave Oklahoma City four technical fouls and Washington two. The Thunder have a 56-15 record and maintained their lead over the Spurs (53-18), who won easily 134-119 at home against the Indiana Pacers. Frenchman Victor Wembanyama contributed 20 points, eight rebounds, and six assists in a game where Keldon Johnson and Dylan Harper each scored 24. LeBron James sets another record. The 41-year-old James surpassed the legendary Parish's mark in his 23rd NBA season, in which he is also the all-time leading scorer. James scored 12 points, six rebounds, four assists, and three steals, but his contribution went beyond those numbers. With four seconds on the clock, he made a key defensive play by recovering the ball after a poor inbound pass from Orlando, which was up 104-102. On the final play, the ball ended up in Luke Kennard's hands, who hit the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer. Luka Doncic scored 33 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and four steals, but also received his 16th technical foul of the season, which will result in a suspension according to NBA rules. Doncic received that technical for provoking his opponent Goga Bitadze with a little over a minute left in the third quarter. Among other games, Donovan Mitchell led the Cleveland Cavaliers to a victory over the New Orleans Pelicans (106-111) with 27 points, and the Charlotte Hornets dominated against Memphis Grizzlies without Santi Aldama (124-101).
