Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki benched himself for the beginning of Friday's game against the Timberwolves after he was late to the team's shootaround.

Dallas didn't have a morning shootaround and Nowitzki forgot that one was scheduled for 5 p.m. He didn't arrive until about 25 minutes later.

"I actually made that decision," said Nowitzki. "We all [have] got to be accountable. I made a mistake and thought it was regular game time, so I wanted to show up at 6. I was almost 30 minutes late.

"That was a distraction. That was my fault. I've got to take it like a man."

Dallas lost to Minnesota. The last time Nowitzki didn't start, on Dec. 14, 1999, the Mavericks lost to the Spurs.

"It sends the right message to everybody about the importance of accountability," coach Rick Carlisle said.

Via ESPN

Dallas Mavericks

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