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Dirk passes Wilt for 6th on all-time scoring leaderboard

Tom Pennington / Getty Images Sport / Getty

With a pair of 20-foot jump shots in the first quarter of Monday's game against the visiting New Orleans Pelicans, Dallas Mavericks legend Dirk Nowitzki passed Wilt Chamberlain for No. 6 on the league's all-time scoring leaderboard.

Nowitzki entered the game with 31,416 career points, trailing Chamberlain by three.

The 40-year-old scored his record-breaking bucket at the 8:35 mark, sizing up the Pelicans' Kenrich Williams before pulling up with a mid-range shot over the 6-foot-7 forward.

Here's how the leaderboard looks after Monday's game:

Rank Player Points
1. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 38 387
2. Karl Malone 36 928
3. Kobe Bryant 33 643
4. LeBron James* 32 439
5. Michael Jordan 32 292
6. Dirk Nowitzki* 31 424
7. Wilt Chamberlain 31 419
8. Shaquille O'Neal 28 596
9. Moses Malone 27 409
10. Elvin Hayes 27 313

* Still active

Though he hasn't officially announced whether he will retire at the end of his 21st season, the future Hall of Famer entered Monday night's game averaging a career-low six points in just under 14 minutes per contest.

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