Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki joined one of the NBA's most exclusive clubs when he scored his 30,000th career point early in the second quarter of Tuesday night's game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Nowitzki came into the game needing 20 points to become the sixth player in league history to reach 30,000 points. He hit his first six shots from the field and had 18 points in the first quarter.
The milestone came at 10:55 of the second quarter when he connected on a jumper from the right wing over Larry Nance Jr. for a 42-30 Mavericks lead. While the crowd became jubilant and waited for a break in the action to recognize the feat, the Lakers had other ideas. They pushed the ball upcourt but missed a shot, which led to a layup by Mavericks guard Devin Harris.
Another empty trip for the Lakers preceded the icing on the cake as Nowitzki cashed in his third 3-pointer of the night to the continued roar of a packed house at American Airlines Center. With a break in the action, Mavericks teammates and owner Mark Cuban flooded the court and swarmed the mild-mannered Nowitzki.
The 38-year-old Nowitzki is sixth all-time in NBA scoring, trailing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, 38,387 points; Karl Malone, 36,928; Kobe Bryant, 33,643; Michael Jordan, 32,292; and Wilt Chamberlain, 31,419.
Nowitzki had 25 points on 9 of 12 shooting with three 3-pointers as the Mavericks led the Lakers 68-50 at halftime. Nowitzki's season high for points this year was 26. He had only reached 20 points five times in his first 36 games.
