NBA: After passing Michael Jordan for career points, Kevin Durant, Rockets visit Bulls

Chicago Bulls fans continue to revere Michael Jordan nearly 30 years after the legendary player suited up for the franchise for the last time.

Houston star Kevin Durant, who shares immense respect for Jordan, passed the NBA icon on the career scoring list Saturday and now leads the Rockets into Monday’s game in Chicago. Durant scored 27 points to guide Houston to a 123-122 home win over the Miami Heat, bringing his career total to 32,294 points — two more than Jordan and fifth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list.

“I’ve been inspired by all of these players that I’m either coming close to or passing up,” Durant said. “MJ is in a world of his own. He’s in a planet, a galaxy, of his own and is somebody that I look up to and respect, who basically shaped the game for me.”

Houston (43-27) has won two straight games, while Chicago (28-42) has dropped its last two. The Rockets narrowly defeated the Heat on Amen Thompson’s tip-in at the buzzer, following a goaltending call against Houston with 5.4 seconds left that had given Miami a one-point lead.

Monday kicks off a four-game road trip for Houston, which has been just 18-17 away from home this season. Still, with emerging talents like Reed Sheppard (23 points, 14 assists Saturday) and Thompson (24 points, 18 rebounds), the Rockets feel confident about their upcoming stretch. Thompson praised Sheppard for “getting dudes the ball in the right spot, manipulating the defense.”

Chicago will look to split its four-game homestand with a win. After beating Memphis by 25 points on March 16, the Bulls fell to Eastern Conference contenders Toronto and Cleveland in consecutive games.

Chicago trailed Cleveland by 29 points in the third quarter Thursday before narrowing the gap to one point late, but the comeback fell short.

“Obviously, none of us want to be in that position,” Bulls guard Tre Jones said about facing a large deficit. “But we found ourselves in that position again, so we’re trying to stay together even when it’s tough. The competitiveness took it to another level in the second half. That’s the standard we have to maintain going into games.”

Jones added: “We were playing a lot more physical with a lot more urgency. Making plays on the defensive end, being aggressive — that’s always a positive.”

Josh Giddey recorded a career-high 19 assists against Cleveland, becoming the first Bull to reach that mark since 1985.

Houston has won four straight in the series and six of the last 10 matchups. Despite Jones’ career-high 34 points, the Bulls fell 119-113 to the Rockets on Jan. 13.

In Saturday’s win, Durant (28 points, 10 rebounds) and Alperen Sengun (23 points, 11 assists) recorded double-doubles for Houston, while Thompson added 23 points. Jones is averaging 25.7 points and six assists in his last three games against the Rockets.

—Field Level Media/Reuters