NBA: Dirk Nowitzki reaches 50,000 minutes

Germany's Dirk Nowitzki joined another elite NBA club when he reached the 50,000-minute milestone.

Nowitzki finished with 12 points but the Dallas Mavericks failed to hold onto the lead and lost to the Los Angeles Clippers 104-101 on Monday night.

Danilo Gallinari made the go-ahead free throws with 24 seconds left for the Clippers, who scored the last 13 points of the game. The Mavericks didn't score in the final four minutes.

Nowitzki has played his full 20-year NBA career with the Mavericks. He came into the game needing seven minutes to reach the milestone and becomes just the sixth player to play at least 50,000 minutes in his career.

He joins Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kevin Garnett, Jason Kidd and Elvin Hayes in the exclusive group.

(AFP)