Mavs' Nowitzki 23rd NBA player to 23,000 points

DALLAS (AP) -- Dirk Nowitzki became the 23rd NBA player to score 23,000 career points, reaching the milestone with a free throw with 7 minutes left in the second quarter in the Dallas Mavericks' game against Milwaukee on Friday night.

During a timeout less than 2 minutes later, fans stood and cheered when the milestone was announced. Nowitzki, who has spent all of his 14 NBA seasons in Dallas, acknowledged the crowd. 

 

"He's had a staggeringly awesome career," coach Rick Carlisle said before the game. "He's right up there (with the best ever)."

Nowitzki, playing his 1,005th game, recently made his 8,000th field goal.

Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett are the only active players with more points than Nowitzki. Elgin Baylor is next on the career list with 23,149 points.

Nowitzki, the 2007 NBA MVP, was the MVP of the NBA finals last season when the Mavericks won their first championship.

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Mavs silence Thunder as unbeaten records fall

(Reuters) - No last-second buzzer-beater could save Oklahoma City this time as the Thunder lost a rematch with the Dallas Mavericks 100-87 on Monday to become the last NBA team to record a loss this season.

In a matchup between these teams just four days earlier, Kevin Durant made a three-pointer as time expired to give the Thunder a dramatic win against the Mavericks squad that knocked them out of the Western Conference Finals last season.

Dallas hit back on Monday, taking a seven-point lead at halftime before moving ahead by 15 in the third to hand Oklahoma City (5-1) their first loss.

The Miami Heat also entered the night 5-0, but fell to Atlanta to leave the NBA without any undefeated teams.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 26 points to counter Durant's 27 and the defending NBA champion Mavericks (2-4) made strides after their tough start to the season.

"I feel like we're going to be able to play with anybody ultimately," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told reporters.

Dallas, having made some key roster changes, stumbled to an 0-3 start but have now won two of their last three games.

New acquisition Vince Carter had 14 points while Shawn Marion added 17 for the Mavericks who made a big move in the second half.

Dallas opened the third quarter with a 14-6 run to move 68-53 ahead and the Thunder were facing an uphill battle from there.

"We didn't have any energy from the beginning," Durant said. "You also have to give credit to Dallas for the effort they made on defense. They made us shoot tough shots and made us see multiple defenders if a guy had the ball."

Russell Westbrook finished with 18 points and eight rebounds in the losing effort for the Thunder.

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Prolific Nowitzki helps Mavs silence Thunder in opener

(Reuters) - Dirk Nowitzki delivered a shooting masterclass for the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday, scoring 48 points to spark a 121-112 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game One of the Western Conference finals.

The German also notched an NBA playoff record of 24-for-24 free throws as part of an incredible performance from the lanky power-forward, who continued to display the impressive form that helped sweep the Los Angeles Lakers in the previous round.

Despite getting a 40-point performance of their own from Kevin Durant, the Thunder struggled to contain Nowitzki and were punished for their persistent fouling of the 32-year-old from Wurzburg.

Often guilty of falling into mismatches pitting smaller players against the 7ft (2.13m) Nowitzki, Oklahoma City will need to improve their tactics of how to counter the German, who amassed his tally with only 15 attempted shots.

"He is so good that in efforts to prevent him, he draws a lot of fouls and then he scores 24-of-24 free throws. There are very few guys in this league that can do that, unfortunately one of them is Kevin Durant," Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle told reporters.

"They will adjust, they will have to do what they have to do, but what it will be I don't know," he added.

There were no signs of rustiness from the Mavericks, who enjoyed a nine-day break after dispatching the Lakers, with Dallas dominant from the tipoff.

GREAT PLAYER

Dallas led 55-48 at halftime with Nowitzki picking up 21 points, including 10 of his first 11 shots, but he truly dominated the third quarter by scoring 17 points as the Mavericks looked set to run away with the game.

"We have to do a better job of guarding him and we will do. He is a great player, one of the best I've ever seen at that position offensively," Thunder head coach Scott Brooks lamented.

But what had been a 16 point-lead was reduced to five in the fourth quarter as the Thunder fought back into contention.

Dallas, however, sealed the win with a three-point effort from Jason Terry and then, appropriately, two more free throws from Nowitzki.

"We have had an incredible ability to bounce back and we will do that again and work on what we have to work on," Brooks added.

Game Two is in Dallas on Thursday with the series winner going on to face either the Chicago Bulls or Miami Heat in the NBA finals. The Bulls lead the Eastern Conference finals 1-0.

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Grizzlies push Spurs to brink; Mavs, Nuggets

(Reuters) - Western Conference top seeds San Antonio were pushed to the brink of elimination from the first round of the NBA playoffs after the Memphis Grizzlies took a 3-1 series lead with a 104-86 win over the Spurs on Monday.

In other Western Conference playoff games, the Dallas Mavericks took a 3-2 series lead over the Portland Trail Blazers while the Denver Nuggets avoided being swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder, cutting the series deficit to 3-1.

The Grizzlies finished the regular season eighth in the West and were not expected to be a major test for the Spurs but their Game Four win puts them in a commanding position in their best-of-seven series.

"We're a team that doesn't get a lot of attention," Memphis point guard Mike Conley told reporters. "We've been playing great and we're able to beat good teams like San Antonio. We just have to do it one more time."

Memphis were too big and athletic for the Spurs and blew the game open in the third quarter where they outscored San Antonio 30-15.

Conley led Memphis with 15 points, with four others joining him in double figures, as the Grizzlies close in on their first NBA playoff series win.

The Spurs got 23 points from Tony Parker but Tim Duncan struggled with just six points and seven rebounds. Game Five is on Wednesday in San Antonio.

Dallas reclaimed control of their matchup after a 93-82 victory and will get the chance to close out the series in Portland on Thursday.

The Mavericks had blown a 23-point lead in the final 13 minutes of Game Four to lose on Saturday but regrouped with an inspired second half to take a 3-2 series advantage.

Dallas got 25 points from Dirk Nowitzki and 20 from Jason Terry as they outscored the Blazers 31-20 in the third to take control of the game.

Brandon Roy, who was coming off a spectacular performance in Game Four when he tallied 18 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter, managed just five on Monday.

Denver survived a late scare from the Thunder to earn their first win of the series 104-101, with Game Five to be played on Wednesday in Oklahoma City.

Ty Lawson scored a team-high 27 points for the Nuggets, who had a 10-point lead with two minutes remaining before the Thunder made their run.

Kevin Durant made a three-pointer to pull his team within two points with four seconds left before Russell Westbrook missed a three-point shot that would have brought the scores level at the buzzer.

Durant finished with 31 and Westbrook had 30 in the loss

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