[caption id="attachment_124936" align="alignleft" width="250"] Los Angeles Lakers' forward Larry Nance Jr. (7) defends Dallas Mavericks' forward Dirk Nowitzki as he shoots during their NBA game in Dallas Tuesday. — AP[/caption] DALLAS — Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki joined an elite club by surpassing the 30,000-point mark in Tuesday's match against the Los Angeles Lakers, becoming just the sixth player in NBA history to reach the milestone. He scored 25 points to lead the Mavericks to a 122-111 victory over Lakers at American Airlines Center. The German sharpshooter earned his 30,000th point on a step back jumper early in the second quarter, then went past the mark on a three-pointer that sent the crowd into a frenzy with 9:54 left in the first half. "Sort of surreal, 30,000 is amazing," Nowitzki told reporters. "It's a lot of points, obviously. Every milestone makes you reflect a little bit. "It makes you reflect on the people that have helped you and been with you all of this way." Nowitzki had entered the night 20 points shy of the feat and exploded early to treat the fans who had cheered him during a video tribute. Mavericks teammates, along with owner Mark Cuban, mobbed Nowitzki during a timeout and the 13-time NBA All Star acknowledged the crowd as his accomplishment was announced over the public address system. "Just an amazing experience," the 19-year veteran said. "After every basket I made, I felt a buzz in the crowd." The other five players with at least 30,000 points are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928), Kobe Bryant (33,643), Michael Jordan (32,292) and Wilt Chamberlain (31,419). Nowitzki finished the night at 30,005 points. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver also offered his congratulations. "Throughout his 19 seasons with the Mavericks, Dirk has been a model player and terrific ambassador for our game," he said in a statement. Trail Blazers 126, Thunder 121: Despite a career-high 58 points from Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City lost to Portland. Seven Trail Blazers scored in double figures led by Allen Crabbe, who posted 23 points. Damian Lillard scored 22 points on 8-of-17 shooting. CJ McCollum added 21 points for Portland. Westbrook shot 21 of 39 to go along with nine assists. He was the only Thunder starter to register an assist. Victor Oladipo scored 16 points in his first game back from injury and Enes Kanter came off the bench to score 11 for Oklahoma City. Wizards 131, Suns 127: John Wall had 25 points and 14 assists as Washington gave back a 22-point first half lead and had to rally from 11 down in the second half to beat Phoenix. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 29 points and Bradley Beal had 15 of his 27 points in the first quarter for the Wizards. Washington won 15 of its last 19 games and has its best 62-game record since starting 43-19 in the 1978-79 season, the last time it reached the NBA Finals. Eric Bledsoe had 30 points and Devin Booker 25 for the Suns, who saw their season-high win streak end at three but not before outscoring Washington 47-14 over a 12-minute span of the second and third quarters to turn a 56-34 deficit into an 81
