(Photo by Ronald Martinez / Getty Images North America)
By Bryan Gutierrez, Mavs.com
Stats pile up for Dirk Nowitzki against Celtics
DALLAS — Quite a few accomplishments happened in Dirk Nowitzki’s 1,022nd regular season game. While Nowitzki moved up the all-time scoring list and joined a unique group of power forwards, he did something on Monday night against the Boston Celtics that he had only done six other times in his career, record a double-double by the end of the first half. With 21 points and 10 rebounds in the first half, it marked the first time since November 11, 2005 for Dirk to accomplish the feat. The breakdown of the seven games where Nowitzki has recorded a double-double by the end of the first half:
January 17, 2003: at Phoenix against the Suns – 14 points and 10 rebounds
October 28, 2003: at Los Angeles against the Lakers – 14 points and 12 rebounds
December 27, 2003: against the Memphis Grizzles – 13 points and 10 rebounds
March 30, 2004: against the Cleveland Cavaliers – 25 points and 10 rebounds
December 11, 2004: at Houston against the Rockets – 17 points and 11 rebounds
November 11, 2005: at Charlotte against the Bobcats – 13 points and 10 rebounds
February 20, 2012: against the Boston Celtics – 21 points and 10 rebounds
-credit to Mark Followill, play-by-play announcer for Dallas Mavericks television broadcasts
In terms of additional milestones for Nowitzki, it started on the defensive end of the floor. With a block on Avery Bradley at the 9:30 mark of the first quarter, he recorded his 1,000th career block. Nowitzki, who has made 1,221 three-pointers in his career, became one of only three players in NBA history with at least 1,000 three-pointers and 1,000 blocks, joining Clifford Robinson (1,253 threes and 1,390 blocks) and Rasheed Wallace (1,064 threes and 1,445 blocks).
Nowitzki became the 80th player in NBA history to record 1,000 blocks. His teammate, Brendan Haywood, was the last player to join the 1,000-block club (against Minnesota on January 1, 2012).
(Photo by Ronald Martinez / Getty Images North America)
The milestones weren’t finished for the night for Dirk as he also moved past former Celtic Robert Parish (23,334) and into 20th place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. Elgin Baylor and Adrian Dantley were legends that Nowitzki zoomed right by earlier in the season. Kevin Garnett and Charles Barkley are next on the list. “It doesn’t mean that much to me right now,” Nowitzki said on his milestones. “It’s going to be great when my career is over. Now, I just want to keep on working. I feel better. I’ve got to keep going.”
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle has consistently stood up for the power forward in regards to his standing as one of the best players the league has ever seen. Carlisle definitely saw the latest name Nowitzki moved ahead of on the scoring list, a former teammate for Carlisle, as further validation for the 2011 Finals MVP’s body of work. “For those people that didn’t think he was a top 20 all-time player, I think this is good evidence of that,” Carlisle said after the game against the Celtics.
Nowitzki will continue to climb the list and pass historic players. The thought of Dirk moving into the top 10 is not out of the realm of possibilities. Nowitzki has come a long way as a player and just within the span of the first half of this season. The decision to give him time off to work on his ailing knee was clearly the right move to make. The rest and rehabilitation has done wonders for the 11-time All-Star. “Ever since I took that week off, I think it’s been steady progress of me feeling better and moving better,” Nowitzki said. “I’ve just got to keep attacking for this team and keep moving in the right direction.” It’s safe to say that he is definitely moving in the right direction.
It sounds like Charles Barkley’s claim that father time had caught up to Nowitzki was erroneous. He’s averaged 25.4 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 55.5 percent from the floor over his last 10 games. “I’m getting warmed up,” Nowitzki joked about his form heading into the All-Star break. Monday night was an avalanche of statistical achievements for Nowitzki. As the Mavericks have the All-Star break on the horizon, it appears that Dirk Nowitzki is ready to show that he will do whatever it takes to help his team defend their championship crown.
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