LA Clippers forward Nicolas Batum reached a big career milestone against the Phoenix Suns
Although the LA Clippers fell short of a win on Tuesday night against the Phoenix Suns, Nicolas Batum played great. The veteran forward finished with 18 points and 7 rebounds on 7/14 from the field and 4/8 from deep. With his 10th point of the game, Batum eclipsed 10,000 for his career.
When asked after the game about the accomplishment, Batum downplayed it and said that "Some guys get 35,000. I don't know how they do that." Of course, only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, and LeBron James have reached that mark; however, Batum made sure to humbly acknowledge the greatness of such scorers.
While Batum wasn't interested in focusing too much on his accomplishment, it did place him in some solid company. With the milestone on Tuesday night, Batum became one of just ten active players with at least 10,000 points, 4,500 rebounds, and 3,000 assists. The combination of consistency and longevity has made him one of the elite role players of his era.
While the Clippers would have loved a win in Phoenix, and had a chance to get one, they will walk away from this back-to-back with the Warriors and Suns very pleased with a split. Batum said after the game that "We’re missing two top-10 guys, and one guy averaging 19 PPG… So I love it. I love where we are right now."
The Clippers are still very much in the mix for a Western Conference playoff spot, and will seemingly finish with at least a spot in the play-in tournament. While everything ultimately rides on the health and availability of their top talent, this is a team that has put together an admirable season so far.
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