Dirk eclipses 27,000 points, Mavs beat Hornets 107-80

The Mavericks cruised out to an early lead and never looked back in this one, defeating the Charlotte Hornets 107-80. Monta was on, Chandler and Chandler were on, and Jameer Nelson finally showed up. Yes, Nelson had a very solid game.

However, the biggest moment of the night came with 6:07 left in the third quarter, when Dirk drilled a shot from the elbow to reach 27,000 points. He's the ninth player of all time to reach the mark, and only the fourth to do it with one franchise, along with Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Karl Malone.

Three Mavericks were in double digits by halftime, Monta (13), Parsons (12) and Chandler (12). Nelson finished the first half with nine points and six assists, while Dirk had 7 points. Charlotte couldn't do much to stop Dallas' offense, which was clicking on all cylinders, as the Mavs worked their way to a 67-43 halftime advantage.

Charlotte looked like they were going to make a run in the third quarter but it never game to fruition. Instead the Mavs extended their lead to 27 after three. The lead ballooned to as much as 33 in the fourth quarter, and with just under seven minutes left the Mavs lineup was J.J. Barea, Jae Crowder, Al-Farouq Aminu, Charlie V. and Greg Smith. Aminu finished the game with nine points and 11 rebounds in just under 30 minutes.

Devin Harris did not play in the second half due to lower right leg soreness, but it didn't hurt the offense thanks to Jameer Nelson stepping up.

Parsons finished with 17 points, thanks to four made three point shots, nine rebounds and six assists, while Tyson finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.

Ellis finished with 18 points, Dirk wound up with 13 and Nelson with 11, to go with eight assists. The best part? None of the starting five played more than 31 minutes, and Dirk played only 25. The win marked the third time this season that Dallas won by 20 or more points, something that they accomplished only three times all of last season.

Dallas has Tuesday off as they travel to Washington, where they'll face off against the Wizards on Wednesday night.