Nowitzki passes Shaq for sixth on career scoring list

Dirk Nowitzki moved past Shaquille O'Neal into sixth place on the NBA's career scoring list, then made the go-ahead basket with 19.2 seconds left in overtime in the Dallas Mavericks' 119-118 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.

J.J. Barea had a career-high 32 points and added a season-best 11 assists for the Mavericks.

Nowitzki scored 22 points, giving him 22,609 in his career. Wesley Matthews finished with 17.

Thaddeus Young had a season-best 29 points for the Nets.

Nowitzki came in needing 10 points to pass the 28,596 O'Neal scored in a career that will likely be capped with him being inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame next year.

Nowitzki is sure to get there someday, too, when-ever he ends a career that saw him redefine the power forward position, and perhaps create the notion of a stretch-4 that teams now crave.

He moved ahead of O'Neal with one of his high-arching jumpers from the corner with 9:51 left in the second quarter, when just about everything the Mavs threw up went in. Dallas started 20 for 25, and Barea made his first eight shots and did not miss until lobbing an airball with the shot clock running out late in the period.

Associated Press

(China Daily 12/25/2015 page24)