DALLAS — Now that Dirk Nowitzki has joined the exclusive 30,000-point club, the Mavericks can get on with the business of trying to finish a turnaround season with an improbable playoff berth.
They took the next step despite a bit of a 30K hangover.
Harrison Barnes scored 21 points, Nowitzki had 13 after a slow start in his first game since reaching the milestone and the sluggish Mavericks beat the lowly Nets 105-96 on Friday night.
The Mavericks, three nights after a raucous in-game celebration for Nowitzki, trailed in the fourth quarter with the NBA’s worst team missing leading scorer Brook Lopez because of an ankle injury.