Of the 20 teams that suited up on Sunday, the Mavericks and Pelicans featured two incredible performances by their superstars. Anthony Davis had the best performance of the day and one of the best performances we’ve seen in a long time. Dirk, on the other hand, further cemented his legacy as one of the greatest scorers ever.
The Pelicans traveled to the Palace in Detroit and Davis had it going from the second he stepped into the arena. He hit his first bucket just 30 seconds into the game and never looked back. He would go on to finish the game with an astounding 59 points and 20 rebounds, making him the third player since 1983 to tally those numbers (Shaquille O’Neal, Chris Webber), according to Basketball-Reference.
Davis played 43 minutes and shot a remarkable 71.6% from the field (24/34) while also hitting nine of his ten free throws. The Pistons, however, kept the game really close behind 34 points from Reggie Jackson. New Orleans exited the Motor City with a 111-106 win. The Pelicans take on the Wizards on Tuesday while Detroit travels to Cleveland for the second half of a back-to-back.
In Dallas, Dirk & the Mavs hosted the 76ers, who got a front row seat to witness history. Since entering the league in 1998, Dirk has always been a scoring machine. On Sunday, he became the sixth player in NBA history to score 29,000 career points, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Wilt Chamberlain. Dirk, 37, has a chance to pass Chamberlain for fifth. He trails Wilt by 2,411 points, but if he continues to average 17 points per game — and stay healthy — he can pass him in 142 games, a litter more than a season and a half.
Nowitzki entered the record book on a three-point shot with 10:22 remaining in the third quarter and finished the game with 18 points total. The Mavericks went on to beat the Sixers 129-103 and will host OKC on Wednesday; Philadelphia will travel back home to host the Magic on Tuesday.
*All data courtesy of Basketball-Reference*
*Photo Credit: Leon Halip / USA TODAY Sports*
