Dirk Nowitzki moves into 8th in all-time scoring, gunning for Kobe

Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks passed Elvin Hayes Friday to move into eighth place on the NBA's all-time scoring list, and now he's eyeing Kobe Bryant - at least from a trash-talk perspective.

"I told him that I was going to catch him," Nowitzki said of Bryant after the Mavericks defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 102-98 Friday night. "But that's going to be tough."

Bryant rested for the third straight game.

Nowitzki finished the game with 27,322 points for his career, and is now only 87 points behind Moses Malone for No. 7 on the all-time list. At his 18.5 per game average, he should pass Malone in the next few weeks.

Bryant is at 32,365 points and counting, so Nowitzki won't be able to catch him. But he could pass Kobe's old teammate, Shaquille O'Neal (28,596 points), for sixth all-time next season.

"I'm fortunate to have great teammates to put me in position to keep scoring, even as I'm older," Nowitzki said.