NOWITZKI BREACHES 30,000 MARK IN WIN; WESTBROOK HITS 58 IN VAIN

Dirk Nowitzki ducked his head into a mob of teammates, with Dallas owner Mark Cuban clutching the side of his jersey before the Mavericks superstar found coach Rick Carlisle for a hug.

The celebration of 30,000 points came a lot faster than most would have imagined—except maybe the man who has watched from the bench for nine of Nowitzki’s 19 seasons.

“Watching Dirk the last couple of days, there was no doubt this was going to happen tonight,” Carlisle said.

Nowitzki scored the 20 points he needed for 30,000 in barely more than a quarter despite coming in with just five 20-point games this season, and the Mavericks celebrated with their second straight easy home win over the Los Angeles Lakers, a 122-111 victory Tuesday.

The 7-foot German became the sixth NBA player and the first international one to reach the milestone, joining four Hall of Famers and a future one in Kobe Bryant. Nowitzki is one of three to score all 30,000-plus with one team. The others are Karl Malone (Utah) and Bryant (Lakers).

Russell Westbrook exploded for the highest-scoring game of his career with 58 points, but Oklahoma City Thunder still lost to Portland.

The Trail Blazers forged a 126-121 victory in a thrilling battle at the Chesapeake Energy Arena where Westbrook put on a scoring show.