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Nowitzki moves to No. 10 on all-time scoring list
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
SALT LAKE CITY — Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle admits it takes a lot to impress him.
Dirk Nowitzki managed the feat Tuesday night.
The Mavericks forward scored 21 points and moved into the No. 10 spot on the NBA’s all-time scoring list in the Dallas Mavericks’ 95-83 victory over the Utah Jazz at EnergySolutions Arena.
“This is my 30th year in the NBA and one of the few times I’ve truly been in awe of an accomplishment,” Carlisle said. “(Becoming one of the) top 10 all-time scorers is an unbelievable accomplishment because it’s a level of excellence that’s beyond belief.”
All the better for Dallas, it came in another big win.
The Mavericks took a 39-25 lead after hitting 16 of 17 field goals (94.1 percent) in the first quarter, and they were never threatened after that.
Nowitzki finished 9-for-11 from the floor, helping the Mavericks wrap up a 4-0 road trip.
The win pushed Dallas (48-31) within one game of the idle Golden State Warriors (48-29) for the sixth spot in the Western Conference standings. Phoenix (46-31) trails No. 7 Dallas by one game, while the Memphis Grizzlies (45-32) remain on the outside looking in, a game behind the Suns.
“We knew they were a very physical team, and we wanted to set the tone a little bit,” Nowitzki said. “I think we were on fire shooting the ball the entire first half.”
Nowitzki needed 18 points to replace Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson (26,710) in the 10th position of the NBA’s scoring list. The Dallas forward now has 26,714 points in 16 seasons. Next on the list is Houston Rockets great Hakeem Olajuwon (26,946).
“It’s been a crazy ride, passing Big O. … It’s unbelievable,” Nowitzki said. “It kind of feels surreal still. … I knew how many points I needed, but I wasn’t trying to think about it. I was just trying to think about the next shot, how I can get open.”
Guard Monta Ellis scored 16 points for the Mavericks, while forward Shawn Marion, center Samuel Dalembert and guard Jose Calderon each chipped in 10 points.
Dallas cooled off from its blistering start but still shot 55.6 percent for the game. The Mavs cruised to a win despite scoring just 34 points in the second half.
“Give them a lot of credit. They shot the ball extremely well,” Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. “They didn’t seem like they were missing any shots in that first quarter. After that, we did a better job of staying closer to them.”
Jazz center Derrick Favors scored 19 points, and backup big man Enes Kanter hauled in a season-high 19 rebounds and added 15 points.
Utah (24-54) lost for the 18th time in 20 games.
“They just made shots. I don’t think we just played awful defense,” Jazz point guard Trey Burke said. “They hit open shots. Dirk hit shots.”
The Jazz shot just 41.4 percent, including a rough 4-for-24 outing from beyond the 3-point arc.
Utah turned it on late with a 13-4 run. The Jazz pulled within 92-83 with 1:59 remaining on a three-point play by Favors, but they couldn’t get any closer.
After winning twice in Los Angeles — against the Lakers and Clippers — and beating the Sacramento Kings and Jazz, Dallas returns home for important home games against the San Antonio Spurs (Thursday) and Phoenix (Saturday). The Mavs finish the regular season next Wednesday at Memphis.
NOTES: Dallas F Dirk Nowitzki has long been a player Jazz fans have loved to hate, in part because he once said “Utah is a bad city” during a playoff series against John Stockton and Karl Malone. Years later, Nowitzki explained that before Game 1, he saw a sign that read, “Germany is a bad city.” When asked why the Mavericks returned to Dallas between games in Utah, Nowitzki told the Dallas Morning News, “Well, Utah is a bad city, meaning it’s the playoffs and we shouldn’t spend too much time there, it’s hostile. I meant going home, sleeping in my own bed is never bad. I come back here and they blew the whole thing up. They were talking about it on the TV that night already. I mean, they were trying to call my hotel room. It was awesome. … Every time I touched the ball to shoot during warm-ups, they were booing. So that was a good ole time.” … Jazz F Marvin Williams underwent an MRI that revealed he has a left knee bone bruise. He played for eight minutes in the first half Tuesday before heading to the training room, and he did not return. … At Tuesday’s game, Jazz F Jeremy Evans displayed portraits that he painted in the concourse. Included in the collection was the painting he leaped over in the 2013 dunk contest.
