Dallas Mavericks: Looking back at Dirk Nowitzki’s final 40-point game

Dallas Mavericks GOAT Dirk Nowitzki’s final 40-point game

The Dallas Mavericks have had a plethora of great players don their uniform, but none better than Dirk Nowitzki. The legend is the Mavs in many ways. He will go down as one of the all-time greats.

Dirk was one of the best scorers in NBA history. His 31,560 career points rank sixth all-time. The Mavericks GOAT invented a shot and changed the game of basketball. Nowitzki was one of the first stretch fours in the NBA. He altered the way people thought about the position.

Mavs fans know there is never a bad time to honor Dirk. Last week, we took a look back at the first 40-point game of his NBA career. Fans can read more here. Today, let us look at his final one.

Dallas Mavericks GOAT Dirk Nowitzki drops 40 on Blazers in 2016

The Mavs were locked in a playoff battle late in 2016. They sat one game under .500 heading into their March 16 showdown against the Portland Trail Blazers. It was an important game as Portland was just 1.5 games up on Dallas heading in. The Mavs needed to win on their home floor.

Dirk Nowitzki willed them to victory. He started the game off with six of the Mavericks’ first nine points. Dirty had 32 points at the end of regulation as the game was tied at 113. He scored eight straight points in overtime to give Dallas an 11-point lead. They never looked back as the game ended 132-120. Check out Nowitzki’s highlight reel from the contest.

Dirk would lead the Mavericks to the playoffs in 2016. That night against Portland was his 27th and final 40-point game of his career. 2016 was also the last time Nowitzki or the Mavericks have played in the playoffs. That drought will end later this summer when the NBA season resumes.

In this game, Dirk became just the fifth player in NBA history to score 40-plus at 37 or older. Jamal Crawford joined the club in Nowitzki’s final home game in 2019. Add it to the list of incredible feats by the Mavericks GOAT. He is truly special.