It hasn't happened often (just five times in the past six seasons) but when Dirk Nowitzki doesn't play well, Dallas still wins more than they lose. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes)
You can count on one hand the number of games Dirk Nowitzki has scored 10-points or less in the past five seasons (04-05). Since Nowitzki became The Man for Dallas, he has scored 10 or less only five times (including last night's win against the Hornets). The Mavericks are now 3-2 in these freak occurrences.
Here are the four other games along with my epic commentary.
(This list does not include games in which Nowitzki scored 10-points or less because of injury)
12/14/2007 - Dallas Mavericks 89 New Orleans Hornets 80
Nowitzki's Line: 32 minutes, 2-8 shooting, seven points, nine rebounds, six assists.
Dallas used Jason Terry's hot hand (11-15 shooting, 25 points) and strong team defense (Hornets shot 35.7 percent) to overcome Nowitzki's rough night. While Dirk didn't score much, he did dish out a then season-high six assists.
11/3/2008 - Dallas Mavericks 81 Cleveland Cavaliers 100
Nowitzki: 32 minutes, 3-11 shooting, eight points, two assists, six rebounds.
Lebron James had 29 points and the Cavaliers held Dallas to only 40 percent shooting. Josh Howard led the Mavericks in scoring with 18. Nowitzki missed the only shot he took in the fourth quarter, as Cleveland outscored Dallas 28-15 in the quarter and Nowitzki took a seat with 4:33 remaining.
1/8/2009 - Dallas Mavericks 99 New York Knicks 94
Nowitzki: 38 minutes, 3-13 shooting, 10 points, seven assists, seven rebounds.
Nowitzki was 0-6 from the field in the fourth and scored only two points in the quarter. Dallas was able to hang on despite scoring only 19 points in the quarter. The Mavericks survived some non-clutch behavior from Dirk, as he played facilitator for most of the night.
2/20/2009 - Dallas Mavericks 86 Houston Rockets 93
Nowitzki: 43 minutes, 4-18 shooting, nine points, 11 rebounds, two assists.
Dallas was outscored 30-13 in the third quarter and 49-35 in the second half. J.J. Barea led the Mavericks in scoring for the first time in his career with 26 points, but Dallas shot only 39.5 percent for the game. Nowitzki attempted only two shots in the fourth quarter and missed both of them.
On the rare occasion that Dirk Nowitzki has had an off-night, his teammates have been more than happy to bare the burden for their superstar.
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