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Nowitzki makes history as Mavs complete comeback over Kings

Nov 12, 2014 - 5:48 AM Dallas, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Dirk Nowitzki entered the history books on Tuesday and helped his team complete a monumental comeback in the process.

Nowitzki scored 23 points, passing Hakeem Olajuwon for ninth on the NBA's all- time scoring list, and the Dallas Mavericks erased a 24-point deficit en route to a 106-98 win over the Sacramento Kings.

In addition to moving up the scoring list, Nowitzki, who needed 17 points to pass Olajuwon (26,946), became the NBA's all-time leader in scoring for a foreign born player.

"It was special to do it in front of the home crowd," Nowitzki said. "They knew exactly how many points I needed. You know to pass 'The Dream' is unbelievable. I was watching the NBA in the 90s."

Chandler Parsons supplied 19 points and Monta Ellis scored all of his 14 points in the second half to fuel the comeback for Dallas, which has won 21 straight at home over the Kings.

Rudy Gay paced Sacramento with 26 points, Ramon Sessions had 18 in place of Darren Collison and DeMarcus Cousins finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds in a second straight loss. Collison did not play due to shoulder stiffness.

It wasn't a great start for the Mavs, but it's not how you start, it's how you finish.

Down 44-20 early in the second, Dallas began chipping away at its deficit.

Jae Crowder made a jumper at 8:09 and Parsons followed with a 3-pointer. Less than two minutes later, the Mavs embarked on an 21-5 run that Nowitzki capped with a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 54-48 with 30.9 seconds left. Gay answered with a 3-ball to close the half and give the Kings a 57-48 lead at the break.

Midway through the third, Parsons hit a jumper and a triple in succession to jumpstart a 12-2 spurt that gave Dallas its first lead of the night, 69-67. Ellis then converted a turn-around 3-pointer at the buzzer to give the Mavs a 78-72 lead entering the fourth.

Nowitzki entered the history books with under nine minutes left in the fourth when he knocked in one of his patented high-arching jumpers to pass Olajuwon. The German's trey at 5:22 gave the hosts a 95-84 edge.

Parsons buried a triple later in the quarter, then Ellis put the finishing touches on the comeback win with a driving dunk to keep the Mavs in front by double digits.

"A lot of it was turnovers," Kings coach Michael Malone attributed to the loss. "Quarters two, three, and four they outscore us 92 to 66. Great first quarter, but this is a 48 minute game."

Ben McLemore, who finished with 17 points, hit three 3-pointers during a 24-4 surge to open the game for Sacramento. The Kings led by as many as 22 in the first and limited the Mavs to 4-of-17 shooting, taking a 32-14 lead after 12 minutes.

Game Notes

Dallas guard Jameer Nelson left the game in the fourth quarter with a hamstring injury ... Dallas is 27-4 over its last 31 against the Kings ... Devin Harris and Brandan Wright chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively, off the bench for the Mavs ... Tyson Chandler deposited 14 points with 11 rebounds in the win ... Dallas shot 24-of-44 from the floor in the second half, and outscored Sacramento, 18-3, on the fastbreak over the final two quarters.