Last night, Nowitzki led the Mavs to a 115-113 overtime win over the suddenly hot Bucks in Milwaukee. Dirk had 32 points (on 12-25 shooting), 11 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block. He also hit the game-winning buzzer-beater in overtime. Here’s a look:

Speaking of Ariza, he posted nine points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals, two blocked shots and six turnovers. He was statistically outplayed by Ron Artest (22 points, six rebounds, three steals), but his team got the win.

The Rockets advance to 6-4, while the defending champs drop to 7-3 with their second straight loss. The Lakers need Pau Gasol back in a big way.

Don’t look now, but the Miami Heat are off to a 6-1 start. The team was supposed to be just treading water until they can acquire some help for their superstar, but they’ve played well early in the season. And the main reason is Wade. He’s averaging 29.9 points, 4.9 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game, and is shooting better than 45% from the field. If the Heat can win 50 games, he’ll be right in the thick of the MVP conversation.

According to Ken Berger’s Twitter page, Kings guard Kevin Martin will be going under the knife on Monday to repair a broken bone in his non-shooting wrist, and will miss around eight weeks. He is averaging 30.6 points per game, so this is obviously a big blow to the team and to fantasy squads around the country. Look for Tyreke Evans to move to off guard while Beno Udrih takes over the point.

Tyrus Thomas will miss 4-6 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a fractured radius in his left forearm. He sustained the injury in a weightlifting accident. (Nice.) Taj Gibson will likely start at power forward until Thomas returns.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

Here are a few random thoughts as I peruse the box scores from last night’s NBA action:

- Nice win by the Bulls, though we shouldn’t read too much into it with regard to the Spurs. They were in the second of a back-to-back and are still trying to work out the kinks with a few new players.

- Tim Duncan (28p, 16r, 2a, 2s, 3b) proved he can still dominate a game. The rest of the Spurs shot a woeful 34% from the field. Tony Parker (8p, 3a, 3r) had an off game, losing the head-to-head matchup with Derrick Rose (13p, 7r, 7a).

- Luol Deng (17p, 9r) was better than expected and shook off the rust quickly, posting a very efficient (+22) night.

- Denver got a big win in Portland (97-93) behind a great performance by Carmelo Anthony (41p, 6r, 3a). Brandon Roy (30p, 5a, 5r) had a nice game, but hasn’t shot the ball well (32%) through two games.

- If Portland wants to join the West’s elite, beating Denver at home would be a start. LaMarcus Aldridge (9p, 7r, 4-15 shooting) is off to a rough start after signing a huge extension before the season.

Here are a few random thoughts as I peruse the box scores from last night’s NBA action:

- Al Horford was the high efficiency man on the night (+38), matching LeBron’s total from the night before. He posted 24 points, 16 rebounds, four assists and two blocks, and looks like a “go-to” post player instead of the complementary player he was last season. Josh Smith was also highly efficient (+29) with 18 points (on 7-10 shooting), eight assists, five steals, three rebounds and two blocks. The duo took advantage of the Pacers’ front line.

- Elton? Elton? Where are you? Elton Brand’s bounce-back season got off to a rough start (8p, 6r, 2a). Marreese Speights (26p, 5r) and Lou Williams (18p, 4a, 4r) were the two bright spots in the Sixers’ loss to the Magic.

- Two games…two losses for the Cavs. It’s early, but this is not how LeBron and Co. wanted to start the season. James had a triple-double (23p, 11r, 12a), but missed 12 shots. Mo Williams scored 16 points, but missed 10 shots. Shaq posted 12 points and seven rebounds. The Cavs shot 35% from the field.

- The Raptors look revitalized. Andrea Bargnani (28p, 5r) is starting to look like a young Dirk Nowitzki, though doesn’t rebound nearly as well. Chris Bosh (21p, 16r) might very well re-sign if Toronto can get back into the top four or five in the East.

- The Celtics held the Bobcats to a pathetic 59 points. Charlotte only had one player in double figures — Gerald Wallace (10p, 12r).

- Miami got a great game from Jermaine O’Neal (22p, 12r, 4a) and if he needs to stay healthy and play well if the Heat are going to threaten any of the East’s elite this season. Michael Beasley (21p, 3r) didn’t do much on the glass, but hit 9 of 14 shots.

- The Knicks were led by David Lee (22p, 9r) and Wilson Chandler (21p, 7r), while Danilo Gallinari (22p, 6r) had a nice game off the bench.

- Al Jefferson (9p, 4r) did play in the opener, but he only saw 25 minutes. Jonny Flynn (18p, 4r, 2a, 2s) got the start at point guard and played pretty well in the win.

- Brook Lopez (27p, 15r, 4a, 5b) looks primed for a monster season. Yi Jianlian (17p, 12r, 2b) was surprisingly effective as well.

- Chris Paul (26p, 9a) and David West (18p, 9r, 3a, 3s) need some help. The good news is that Emeka Okafor (18p, 10r) looked solid, but the Hornets have problems at the wing, where they’re starting Morris Peterson (7p, 0r) and Julian Wright (8p, 4r). Wright is a pretty good defender, but Peterson is better suited for bench duty. Steven Jackson or Rip Hamilton would be a great fit here.

- DeJuan Blair (14p, 11r, 3a) led the Spurs in efficiency (+22). Richard Jefferson (5p, 4r, 5a) was quiet in his San Antonio debut.

- Kevin Martin (27p, 4r, 4a) missed 14 shots, but doesn’t have much help. Tyreke Evans (10p, 4r, 2a) shot just 5-16 from the field.

- Thabo Sefolosha started at off guard and dominated James Harden in minutes 34 to 13. Russell Westbrook (14p, 13a, 7r), Kevin Durant (25p, 11r, 4a), Jeff Green (24p, 8r) and Nenad Krstic (20p, 7r) all looked good, but they were facing the Kings.

- Marc Gasol (21p, 15r, 3b) had a nice game for the Grizzlies even though they were blown out on their home court.

- Ty Lawson (17p, 6a, 4r) had a great game off the Nuggets’ bench. It will be interesting to see if he gets 20+ minutes when J.R. Smith comes back from suspension. Anthony Carter and Aaron Afflalo are George Karl’s other option at guard opposite Chauncey Billups.

- Luis Scola (21p, 11r) bounced back from a dreadful game the night before. He needs to play well this season for the Rockets to stay competitive. Trevor Ariza (25p, 5r, 5a) had a big night in the win over the Warriors, but turned the ball over six times.

- Stephen Curry (14p, 7a) got the start and played pretty well.

- Grant Hill (19p, 13r) still has some juice in those old legs. Amare Stoudemire (16p, 5r) posted a substandard line as he works his way back into shape.