Dallas Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki reminisces about first playoff series win

Dallas Mavericks GOAT Dirk Nowitzki on his first playoff series win

Dallas Mavericks fans got a treat on Monday evening when Fox Sports Southwest aired three classic games. One of them was a first for some fans. They took it back to 2001 to show Dirk Nowitzki’s first playoff series win.

The Mavericks GOAT struggled with the transition to the NBA in his first season. Fans can read about the best moments from his rookie season here. Nowitzki improved significantly but did not take that superstar leap until his third season.

In 2000-2001, the Mavericks had a big three of Dirk, Steve Nash, and Michael Finley. They ended a decade long playoff drought that season.

Dirk Nowitzki leads Dallas Mavericks to victory over Jazz

Dallas faced the Utah Jazz in the first round. The two teams finished with the same regular season record, but the Jazz had the tiebreaker for home court.

That means the first two games were in Utah. The Jazz took both games including a blowout in game two. Both Karl Malone and John Stockton were rolling. The Mavericks had to win three straight games to advance to the second round.

Dirk Nowitzki dropped 33 points in games three and four. The Mavericks snuck past in the first game in Dallas before blowing out the Jazz in game four. That meant game five in Utah was going to decide it. The Mavericks clawed out a victory in the game many fans watched on Monday evening. Fans can see the Mavs celebrating here.

https://twitter.com/dallasmavs/status/1275583164237385728

Dirk Nowitzki reminisced about his playoff series win for Fox Sports Southwest. Hear the moment here.

That was the first of 13 playoff series wins for Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks. It began a run of 12 straight postseason appearances and 15 in 16 years. That win was also the start of Dirk becoming the Mavs GOAT. Hopefully, fans enjoyed the game on Monday night, and Nowitzki remembering the occasion.