Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant needed 37 points tonight to move up in the standings, and he did just that.

 Forward Kevin Durant of the Phoenix Suns scored 37 points tonight against the Los Angeles Lakers, moving him over Hakeem Olajuwon on the NBA’s all-time scoring chart.

After passing Olajuwon’s 26,946-point mark, Durant has moved up to 12th place. Durant entered tonight with a total of 26,910 points. 

He scored a and-one against Olajuwon with 1:30 remaining to knot the score at 91. 

According to Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic, Durant is one of only two players in the top 25 to have played less than 1,000 games (the other being Jerry West, who has 932).

Durant was relied upon heavily by the Phoenix Suns in their second game of their two-game road trip without Bradley Beal or Devin Booker. Durant, after scoring 18 points in less than stellar way last night, made up for it tonight. 

Durant, who had scored 15 points by halftime, stepped it up a notch in the third quarter, scoring 15 points. 

Before Durant, largely regarded as one of the best scorers in league history, can officially move into the top ten, he must pass Elvin Hayes (27,313) and Moses Malone (27,409). 

This is the year that Durant has a very good chance of becoming one of the top 10 scorers in NBA history. According to Case, “for Durant to overtake No. 12 Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946), No. 11 Elvin Hayes (27,313), and No. 10 Moses Malone (27,409), he needs 55 points, 422 points, and 518 points, respectively.

The 1,366 points that Durant scored in 47 games last year were nearly on par with the 1,643 points that he scored in 55 games in the previous season (21-22). About 1,600 points would put Durant ahead of Carmelo Anthony (28,289) for ninth place on the all-time scoring record this season. If he stays healthy and scores 2,000 points this year, he will move above Shaquille O’Neal (28,596) into eighth place. Finally, Durant needs 3,108 points to join the 30,000-point club, making him the eighth player to do so.