Nowitzki 6th player to score 30,000 points

DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki has become the sixth NBA player and first international player to score 30,000 points.

The Dallas Mavericks superstar got 18 of the 20 points he needed in the first quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, and hit the milestone on a fadeaway jumper with 10:58 left in the second quarter. He added a three-pointer for 23 points in the first 14 minutes before the game was stopped.

The 7- foot German, in his 19th season, is the third to score at least 30,000 points with one team. The others are Karl Malone (Utah) and Kobe Bryant (Lakers).

The 30,000 list includes four Hall of Famers in career leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points), Malone, Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain, and a future one in Bryant, who is third. Julius Erving also reached the milestone with his ABA career included.

Nowitzki hit his first six shots and finished the first half with 25 points, one shy of his season high. He was 9 of 12 from the field, 3 of 3 from beyond the arc and 4 of 4 on free throws before halftime.

Nowitzki didn’t score in the second half, but the Mavericks, who led 70-52 at halftime, held on to beat the Lakers 122-111.

A short video tribute was played when the game was stopped, followed by testimonials from former teammates and fans, even some Germans, during subsequent breaks in the game.

The only glitch was Nowitzki’s first attempt at 30,000, an airball on another fadeaway jumper 10 seconds into the second quarter.

His 18-point first quarter was the highest-scoring period for a Dallas player this season, topping Harrison Barnes’ 14 in the second quarter of an 86-75 victory over Milwaukee in early November.

While the Lakers did little to stop Nowitzki’s pursuit of the milestone, they made sure it didn’t happen in the first quarter. With the final seconds winding down, a defender jumped out on him at the three-point line, forcing Devin Harris to make an open three when he wanted to pass to Nowitzki.