DeMar DeRozan reached a career scoring milestone involving Paul Pierce during the Sacramento Kings' matchup against the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night.
DeRozan is in the 17th season of his NBA career, his second with the Kings. He stands out as one of the most experienced scorers in the league, showing solid nights on the offensive side of the ball.
Heading into Sacramento's game with Houston, DeRozan has scored 26,391 regular season points throughout his career. This placed him 22nd on the all-time scoring list, behind John Havlicek's 26,395 points and Pierce's 26,397 points.
DeRozan needed six points to tie Pierce and seven to move past 20th. He completed the work. The veteran scorer had seven points in the first half, surpassing both Havlicek and Pierce in the process.
DeMar DeRozan, how the Kings played against the Rockets
This was an incredible accomplishment for DeMar DeRozan, surpassing NBA legends Paul Pierce and John Havlicek. However, he couldn't top it with a win as the Kings suffered a crushing 129-97 defeat to the Rockets.
The game was over by halftime. Sacramento couldn't find rhythm on defense and gave up 77 points in the first 24 minutes of regulation. The Kings never recovered from that poor start, unable to keep up with Houston's offense.
Four players scored in double figures for Sacramento in the loss, including DeRozan. He finished with a stat line of 15 points, seven assists, one rebound and one steal. Russell Westbrook led the team with 22 points, five rebounds and three assists. Nick Clifford came next with 15 points and four steals, while Maxime Renaud provided 11 points and eight rebounds.
Sacramento fell to a 13–47 record on the season, finishing at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They trail the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz.
The Kings will look to bounce back in their next game while on the road in Texas. They will face the Dallas Mavericks on February 26, tip-off at 8:30 pm ET.
