The "slow-moving, gathering weather front," as head coach Rick Carlisle called it, finally rolled through the American Airlines Center on Tuesday night.
Nothing slow about scoring 20 points in 11 minutes, though.
We have the "500 Club" for home run hitters in baseball and the still impressive "5,000 Club" for NFL quarterbacks that average more than 300 yards passing in a single season. Push both of those to the side for now.
Dirk Nowitzki's a "30,000 Club" guy.
With a baseline jumper against the Lakers' Larry Nance Jr. early in the second quarter, the greatest Maverick of all reached another piece of hallowed ground in a career now filled with landmarks with his 20th point of the game.
Slow moving?
Yeah, I guess Carlisle could call it that since Nowitzki began this march against a team that no longer exists (Seattle SuperSonics) while playing home games in a building that no longer exists (Reunion Arena) as Carlisle was an assistant coach for the Indiana Pacers.
It took awhile, yes, but what journey of 30,000 points wouldn't?
Nowitzki's next and final target is Wilt Chamberlain, which is kind of ridiculous to even think about. The only player ever to average 50 points per game in a season, the only man to score 100 points one fabled night in Hershey, Pa., is 1,419 points ahead of Nowitzki for No. 5 on the all-time list.
That means Dirk will have to play almost every game between now and the end of next season when he plans to retire and average close to 15 points per game.
It's doable (especially when you watch his 18-point first quarter Tuesday) but unlikely, given that Nowitzki's sole purpose for playing a 20th and final season will be like all the others _ to see how far he can guide the Mavericks in the playoffs.
It has never been about the personal achievements (league MVP, playoff MVP, more points than Shaq and all the rest), which is precisely what makes them so worthy of Mavericks fans' applause.
The ninth pick of the 1998 draft _ one spot ahead of Paul Pierce, also a champion still churning along in his 19th season _ Nowitzki has guaranteed his place on the Dallas Mt. Rushmore.
He's just padding the resume for fun now as the Mavericks make an almost equally improbable run toward the 2017 playoffs.
