Dirk Nowitzki News

LOS ANGELES: The National Basketball Association season started with ‘The Decision’ and ended with vindication.

The Dallas Mavericks had an improbable run to a championship in 2011, with Dirk’s illness and hurt hand in the finals to multiple double digit comeback wins.

Kevin Durant scored 30 points and hit a three-pointer at the final buzzer to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-102 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals.

The Dallas Mavericks finally won a game. After opening their season with a three-game losing streak and going winless during the condensed preseason, the Mavericks beat the Toronto Raptors for their first win since last June’s NBA Finals.

Dallas finally got their NBA title defence on track on Friday with Frenchman Ian Mahinmi leading a strong showing by the Mavericks reserves in a 99-86 victory over Toronto Raptors.

Reserve centre Ian Mahinmi scored a career-high 19 points, Dirk Nowitzki contributed 18, and the reigning NBA champion Dallas Mavericks rallied for their first victory of the season, 99-86 over the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.

So, apparently Kevin Durant > Vince Carter . Now, that might not exactly seem like a revelation given Carter’s, ahem, reputation, but the cold-blooded former Longhorn made it clearer than ever on Thursday evening.

GET TO KNOW YOUR MAVS: Lamar Odom, No. 7, Power Forward *** At Rhode Island, Lamar was nicknamed the “Package” because of his all-around skills.

Kevin Durant scored 30 points and hit a 3-pointer at the final buzzer to lift the Oklahoma City Thunder to a 104-102 victory against the Dallas Mavericks on Thursday night in a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals.

The Dwight Howard trade saga is still going on and on like the little Energizer Bunny.

The Dallas Mavericks’ problems appear to be greater than X’s and O’s, although coach Rick Carlisle has tried to take the blame for his team’s 0-2 start.

We won’t see fans of the Dallas Mavericks wearing paper bags over their heads any time soon, especially with the team’s first NBA championship banner hanging from the rafters. But in their 2011-2012 season home opener against the vaunted Miami Heat, and in their second game against the Denver Nuggets, the Mavs have lost by a total of 33 points.

The Dallas Mavericks have gone from hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy to getting blown out two games in a row on their home floor to start the season.

Former Utah Jazz center Greg Ostertag was one of the most dominant shot-blocking big men of his time, averaging a blocked shot every 11.5 minutes of playing time.

Dirk Nowitzki and Co. are 29th in our rankings, but it’s hard to believe they’ll reside there for long.