New Orleans Pelicans @ Houston Rockets
Sunday, January 18, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET
Toyota Center, Houston, TX | Game ID: 22500604
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
HOU 32 32 23 32 119NOP 30 24 26 30 110
ESPN UpdateESPN Update
Durant passes Nowitzki for 6th place on NBA career scoring list as Rockets beat Pelicans 119-110
HOUSTON -- — Kevin Durant had 18 points and moved into sixth place on the NBA's career points list, and Jabari Smith Jr. scored a season-high 32 points as the Houston Rockets beat the New Orleans Pelicans 119-110 Sunday night.
Alperen Sengun had 21 points and eight rebounds and Amen Thompson finished with 20 points as Houston won for the third time in four games.
Trey Murphy III scored 21 points on 7-for-15 shooting and Zion Williamson had 20 points and six rebounds. Derik Queen finished with 15 points for the Pelicans, who lost for the fourth time in five games and 13th time in 15 games.
With 15.2 seconds left in the game, Durant stepped to the free throw line needing one point to pass Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki (31,560 points) on the NBA's scoring list. The 15-time All-Star made two free throws and received a standing ovation from the home crowd. Durant now has 31,562 career points. Michael Jordan is fifth on the list at 32,292.
When the game was over, a special video message was played on the jumbotron with Dirk Nowitzki congratulating Durant .
Smith, who had 22 points in the first half, bounced back from a 3-for-12 shooting performance in a win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. Against the Pelicans, he shot 11 for 21 and had a career-high seven 3-pointers.
Houston's Steven Adams had to be helped off the court in the fourth quarter with an apparent left ankle injury. Adams, who missed a few games earlier this season with a right ankle injury, had 10 rebounds and five points before leaving the game with just under 10 minutes left in the final quarter.
Up next Pelicans: Host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
HOUAS A. Sengun
AT A. Thompson
DF D. Finney-Smith
JD J. Davison
JO J. Okogie
JS J. Smith Jr.
KD K. Durant
RS R. Sheppard
SA S. Adams
NOPDQ D. Queen
JF J. Fears
JH J. Hawkins
JP J. Poole
KM K. Matković
MP M. Peavy
SB S. Bey
TM T. Murphy III
YM Y. Missi
ZW Z. Williamson
HOU/NOP the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur