Nowitzki passes Chamberlain for No. 6 on NBA scoring list

6 spot on the NBA's all-time scoring list.

Nowitzki hit the milestone early in the first quarter, making a 20-footer with
8:35 remaining in front of a sellout crowd at Dallas that was mostly on its
feet in anticipation of the moment.

"I felt good in warmups, made some shots," Nowitzki said postgame on Fox
Sports Southwest. "I was messing around with the guys and figured I'm going to
get some good looks early. Obviously I didn't know my first two were going to
go in right away. ...

"The second one, I kind of faced up and said it's now or never. Shot it up
high, and it went in. It was fun. It was good to be out there, and the crowd
was great."

He entered the game needing four points to pass Chamberlain, who scored 31,419
career points and now has 31,424. Nowitzki spent several years as the
sixth-leading scorer in NBA history before LeBron James passed him,
Chamberlain and Michael Jordan earlier this season.

Nowitzki finished the game with eight points, all in the first half, in the
Mavericks' 129-125 overtime loss.

"It's been building up the whole season, and I'm just glad it's over with,"
Nowitzki said on Fox Sports Southwest.

Nowitzki, 40, has yet to make a decision on whether or not he will retire, but
he has been enjoying an unofficial farewell tour throughout the season.

The 21-year veteran missed the first 26 games of the season while rehabbing
after left ankle surgery. Nowitzki began play Monday averaging 6.0 points and
2.4 rebounds per game in 2018-19.

The top five all-time NBA scorers are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl
Malone (36,928), Kobe Bryant (33,643), James (32,439) and Michael Jordan
(32,292).

--Field Level Media