It meant a lot to Dirk Nowitzki to reach 30K milestone at home

It meant a lot to Dirk Nowitzki to be able to share his 30,000-point milestone with the Dallas Mavericks fans who have adored him for nearly two decades.

It meant a lot to Nowitzki to look up into the American Airlines Center stands during Tuesday’s 122-111 win over the Los Angeles Lakers, and feel the electricity, and see and hear the roar of a raucous crowd as he knocked on history’s door.

Reaching 30,000 career points wouldn’t have been the same for Nowitzki had it occurred in Milwaukee, Boston, New York — or even L.A., for that matter.

“Yeah, it was almost like it was planned with all of the eight-point games I’ve been having after the (All-Star) break,” Nowitzki said, referring to securing his 30,000th point during a home game. “I’m happy that way, also happy we’re winning games.

“We’re playing well, so the main thing is we won the game and it happened early.”

In the Mavericks’ first game after the All-Star break, Nowitzki scored eight points against Minnesota, and in the third game he scored eight points against Miami. He followed that up with an 11-point contest against Atlanta and a 10-point outing against Memphis.

However, Nowitzki tallied 18 points in Sunday’s win over Oklahoma City, setting the stage for Tuesday, when he only needed 20 points to become the sixth member of the 30,000 club. With a saturation of cameras flashing to chronicle the moment, Nowitzki scored 25 points against the Lakers, thus cementing his place alongside the game’s all-time greats.

“Leading up to it, there was just this buzz every time I touched the ball,” Nowitzki said. “That was really exciting for me as well.

“I didn’t talk much prior to [Tuesday’s game]. I just tried to be focus and lock in and get this over with.”

Nowitzki remembers when he passed Shaquille O’Neal on Dec. 23, 2015, in Brooklyn to become the No. 6 all-time leading scorer in NBA history, his teammates and coaches enjoyed a brief celebration near the Mavericks’ bench. But there was nothing more than a symbolic gesture by the Nets and their fans, because he wasn’t one of theirs.

But it was totally different Tuesday, as Mavericks fans roared with every basket that he made while making it one of the more memorable nights in Dallas sports history. A memorable night that put Nowitzki in the same 30,000-point class with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain.

“If you look at the guys ahead of him [on the all-time scoring list], they’re all gifted athletically in some amazing way,” owner Mark Cuban said. “That’s not Dirk.

“He made it through effort, and then when he got knocked down he got up and he made it through effort and worked harder and harder and harder. That’s what makes it special.”

What also made Nowitzki’s feat special is that — at age 38 and now in his 19th season — he still appreciates the value of staying late after practice just to add another wrinkle to his game, another nuance that might keep an opponent off-balance.

“Most of us will never know how difficult it is to play 19 years in this league,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “The things that you have to do on a day-to-day basis to keep your body functioning the way it needs to function.

“The flexibility, the strengthening — not to mention the wear and tear of defenses trying to figure out how to stop you. It’s really one of the truly amazing mental, physical and skill accomplishments of our game — flat out.”

With Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott sitting courtside and other celebrities sprinkled through the arena, the Mavericks kept feeding Nowitzki the ball to the point where he already had 18 of the necessary 20 points that he needed to get to 30,000 in the first quarter. Then the second quarter started and the fans were on edge, anticipating the inevitable, anticipating how this moment in history would play out.

And then it happened.

Nowitzki took a pass from Devin Harris, jab-stepped as he has so many times in his illustrious career, and made a 15-foot shot in front of the Mavericks’ bench over the outstretched arms of Larry Nance Jr. with 10 minutes, 58 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

“After every basket I made, I felt a buzz in the crowd,” said Nowitzki. “I head into the second quarter sitting on 18 [points] and I remember walking out onto the court and everybody got up.

“So I got a little nervous and hoisted an air ball. But I was able to regroup and make the next shot.”

The history-making shot that sent the crowd into a frenzy and created a special kind of buzz.

This story was originally published March 8, 2017 at 11:51 AM with the headline "It meant a lot to Dirk Nowitzki to reach 30K milestone at home."