Nowitzki hits 30,000 points, leads Mavs past Lakers
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[March 08, 2017]
DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki
described the evening as surreal. Historic is appropriate, too.
The greatest player in Dallas Mavericks history reached the
30,000-point milestone in rousing fashion, showing off the range of
shots that have defined his Hall of Fame career.
Nowitzki scored a team-high 25 points -- he needed 20 coming in for
30K -- to lead the Mavericks to a 122-111 win over the Los Angeles
Lakers on Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.
"Just an amazing experience," the 19-year veteran said. "After every
basket I made, I felt a buzz in the crowd."
Dallas (27-36) has won three straight and five of six. The Mavericks
are within nine games of .500 for the first time since being 2-11 on
Nov. 21. They have gone 16-9 since mid-January to climb back into
playoff contention.
The sixth-leading scorer in NBA history hit the magical number on
his signature one-legged, step-back jumper along the baseline early
in the second quarter. That came after he lit up the Lakers for 18
points in the first period.
"I head into the second quarter sitting on 18, and I remember
walking out onto the court and everybody got up," Nowitzki said. "So
I got a little nervous and hoisted an airball, but I was able to
regroup and make the next shot."
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In the midst of an arena-wide celebration, Nowitzki followed with a
long 3-pointer on the next trip down the court before the game was
stopped.
A video tribute followed as Nowitzki was mobbed by his teammates,
coaches and team owner Mark Cuban. Nowitzki came out to center court
to acknowledge the cheers and wave thanks to the fans.
"Sort of surreal; 30,000 is amazing," he said. "It's a lot of
points, obviously. Every milestone makes you reflect a little bit.
It makes you reflect on the people that have helped you and been
with you all of this way."
The Mavs were prepared for the moment, with commemorative T-shirts
passed out to everyone in attendance, even if coach Rick Carlisle
shied away from the topic before the game.
"It's going to take a while to sink in, what this really means,"
Carlisle said. "The benchmark in baseball is 3,000 hits, and there
are 30 guys with 3,000 hits in the history of baseball. There's only
six that have 30,000 points in the history of our game. The
magnitude of this moment is something that we'll all probably need
some time to digest."
Nowitzki got going in a hurry. He scored Dallas' first eight points,
hitting two quick 3-pointers. He made his first six shots from the
floor and tied the highest-scoring first period of his career as the
Mavs began to pull away.
The lead hit 21 in the second quarter and Dallas took a 70-52
advantage into the break. Nowitzki had 25 points at halftime, one
shy of a season high. He didn't score in the second half and didn't
need to with the lead reaching 31.
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![](../images/030817pics/sports67.jpg)
Mavericks guard Quinn Cook (2) looks to shoot as Los Angeles Lakers
guard D'Angelo Russell (1) defends during the first half at American
Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
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Seven Mavericks scored in double figures, including
all five starters. Seth Curry knocked down four 3-pointers and
scored 18 points. Yogi Ferrell had 16 points and seven assists.
Wesley Matthews scored 15 points on five 3-pointers, and Harrison
Barnes added 14 points. Nerlens Noel had a double-double with 11
points and 12 rebounds off the bench.
The Mavericks also continued their mastery of the Lakers, running
their head-to-head winning streak to 14 and sweeping another season
series. Los Angeles (19-45) lost its eighth in a row, tying a season
high.
"Teams feel like when they play us right now, that we are a soft
team that they can come in and get their offensive numbers against,"
Lakers coach Luke Walton said. "It has to be up to us to change
that, and the only way to change that is to do it out there on the
court."
Backup point guard Jordan Clarkson and D'Angelo Russell each scored
22 points for the Lakers. Nick Young, Julius Randle and Brandon
Ingram scored 13 each.
Randle, a Dallas native, was a Kobe Bryant fan growing up, but he
grew to admire Nowitzki.
"To this fan base, to this city of Dallas, he is big-time," Randle
said. "He is their Kobe."
The Lakers finish a two-game road trip Thursday at Phoenix.
Dallas looks to go to improve to 4-0 on its five-game homestand
Friday when it faces the Brooklyn Nets.
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NOTES: The other five players with at least 30,000 points are Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928), Kobe Bryant (33,643),
Michael Jordan (32,292) and Wilt Chamberlain (31,419). ... Dallas F
Dirk Nowitzki's 18-point first quarter represented his highest total
in a quarter since he netted 20 against the New Orleans Pelicans on
Jan. 11, 2014. ... The Lakers officially announced the hiring of
former player agent Rob Pelinka as general manager. ... Dallas PG
J.J. Barea (calf) hoped to play but was ruled out before the game. [© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
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