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Nowitzki reaches milestone as Mavericks down Bucks

Jan 14, 2012 - 4:56 AM Dallas, TX (Sports Network) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 11 points, surpassing 23,000 for his career, and the Mavericks cruised to a 102-76 win over the Andrew Bogut-less Bucks.

Nowitzki entered Friday needing just three points to reach the milestone and did so with a second-quarter free throw, becoming just the 23rd player in NBA history and the third active player (Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett) to hit 23,000.

Jason Terry scored 17 and Vince Carter had a season-high 16, leading the Mavericks to their fourth straight win.

Brandon Jennings scored 19 and Shaun Livingston chipped in 15 for the Bucks, who saw their two-game win streak come to an end. They fell to 0-7 on the road this season.

Bogut suffered a concussion in Thursday's win over the Pistons. It was just his second game back after missing four straight games -- all Milwaukee losses -- while dealing with a personal matter.

The Mavs didn't show the shorthanded Bucks sympathy. They opened strong, scoring a season-high 60 first-half points en route a 15-point lead at the break. Carter led the early charge, scoring 14 on 6-of-7 shooting.

"We appeared to be slow and non-reactive," said Bucks coach Scott Skiles. "There are some teams you can get away with that for a quarter, quarter and a half and it's not as glaring. But the way they share and shoot the ball, if they're going in you know you're in trouble pretty quick."

In the fourth, former Buck Yi Jianlian hit an elbow jumper as the shot clock expired, giving the Mavericks a 99-69 lead -- their largest of the game. It marked Yi's first basket as a Maverick. He signed with the team on January 6.

The Mavericks' success continues to be predicated on the defensive end. They are 7-0 this season when holding the opposition under 90 points. On Friday, they limited the Bucks to just 37.2 percent shooting, capturing their fifth consecutive home win in the process.

"On defense we're doing a good job of holding each other accountable and we feel like we can always do better of not letting the other team get in a flow," said Carter.

Game Notes

Nowitzki now has 23,008 career points...Yi was taken sixth overall by Milwaukee in the 2007 NBA Draft...Bogut hit his head on the floor while taking a charge on Thursday. Drew Gooden started in his place and scored eight points...The last time Milwaukee opened the season with seven straight road losses was during the 2004-05 campaign.