Nowitzki warming up with Grizzlies on deck (Mar 09, 2018)
Dallas Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is inching higher and higher on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
He became the sixth player to notch 31,000 points with a one-legged fadeaway against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Feb. 28.
Nowitzki has 31,063 points and on Saturday against the host Memphis Grizzlies, he will have a chance to climb closer to Wilt Chamberlain, who is next on the list with 31,419 points.
In three games this month, Nowitzki is averaging 19.3 points. In a season where his 12.5 points per game is the lowest average since his rookie season, the past three games have been a significant improvment. In those games, he is shooting 46.5 percent (20 of 43) and 65 percent (13 of 20) from 3-point range.
Nowitzki has scored in double figures in four straight games and in 14 of his last 15 since Jan. 26.
Despite his lowest scoring total since playing 47 games in the lockout-shortened 1999 season, Nowitzki is shooting 46.6 percent, which his highest percentage since shooting 49.7 percent in 2013-14. His 43.9 percent from 3-point range represents a career high.
"I've just been stepping into shots," Nowitzki told the Dallas Morning News earlier this week. "As you know, there's some ups and downs in a long season. There are stretches where you've just got that confidence and you've got the touch and you feel like you're never going to miss."
Nowitzki stepped into some good shots Tuesday when Dallas recorded a 118-107 home win over the Denver Nuggets. After scoring a season-high 23 points Sunday in a 126-109 loss to New Orleans, Nowitzki followed it up with 17 points when he made five 3-pointers and shot 6 of 11 from the floor.
Dallas (20-45) is attempting to get consecutive wins for the first time since Jan. 9-10. Since then, the Mavericks are 5-17.
On Tuesday, Nerlens Noel contributed 14 rebounds, but he will be rested Saturday. Wesley Matthews is also listed as questionable with a left hip injury but is expected to play. Matthews is mired in a slump, having made only 6 of 23 attempts in his last two games.
The Grizzlies (18-47) remained winless since Jan. 29 when their losing streak reached 16 games with Friday's 95-78 loss to the Utah Jazz. Memphis is on its longest skid since the franchise relocated from Vancouver following the 2000-01 season.
Durng the streak, the Grizzlies are averaging 95.7 points while allowing 107.3. Memphis is turning the ball over 17.1 times per game.
Memphis rested former Mavericks forward Chandler Parsons Friday. Tyreke Evans missed his eighth straight game with a rib injury and has only played four times because of injury and trade rumors since the Grizzlies' last win.
Evans is day-to-day after being injured during a 112-89 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 23.
Rookie Dillon Brooks scored 18 Friday and is one of the few bright spots in a dismal season for Memphis. He is averaging 18 points in his last five games as the Grizzlies evaluate younger players while absorbing losses.
"That's the purpose of the whole thing, to put guys into position to gain experience to see what they have," Memphis interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff told reporters before Friday's loss. "You want to see some of those moments because it gives you a light at the end of the tunnel."
Dallas has won two of three meetings this season with Memphis.
