8:02 pm | April 9, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:
DALLAS — Dirk Nowitzki has confirmed his retirement from the NBA after 21 seasons, announcing to an overflow crowd at American Airlines Center that Tuesday night “is my last home game.”
Nowitzki scored a season-high 30 points and the Dallas Mavericks celebrated the final home game of the 40-year-old’s record 21st season with the same franchise in a 120-109 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday night.
Nowitzki hadn’t confirmed before the game that he was retiring, but the game-long celebration of his career felt even more like a farewell than all the times he was serenaded by the crowds in opposing arenas once he finally made his debut after missing 26 games recovering from ankle surgery.
The 14-time All-Star had the first eight Dallas shots and scored his team’s first 10 points in the first three minutes and passed his previous season high of 21 on a 3-pointer early in the third quarter.
Dallas’ season finale is Wednesday night in San Antonio.
Nowitzki broke Kobe Bryant’s record of 20 seasons with the Lakers. Bryant retired three years ago.
Nowitzki kept shooting on his busiest night of the season, finishing with highs of 31 shots (making 11) and 33 minutes. He was 5-of-14 from 3-point range with eight rebounds.
The highest-scoring foreign-born player in NBA history also tied his season high in assists with three, capped by passing out of a jump shot with the crowd anticipating another bucket and getting Justin Jackson an easy layup.
A sellout crowd followed owner Mark Cuban’s order of filling the arena early, and cheered from the first possible moment for the player who guided the Mavericks to their only championship eight years ago.
Fans stood during warmups, recording him in the layup line on their phones. The 7-foot German obliged with a dunk. Then he had another dunk in the game — his second of the season — in the second half.
The wide smile as he ran down the floor was quite a contrast to the break between the first and second quarters. Nowitzki fought back tears near midcourt with the game about to restart after a tribute video detailing one of his holiday visits to a children’s hospital.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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