Mavericks book trip to NBA finals

DALLAS (AP):

Dirk Nowitzki wrapped his hands around the silver ball trophy that goes to the Western Conference champions and smiled. After five years, he and the Dallas Mavericks are kings of their conference again, earning another trip to the NBA finals.

Yet, Nowitzki didn't flash the wide, toothy grin of someone relieved to have accomplished his goal. Because, he hasn't.

Unless the Mavs win the next round, too, and become NBA champions for the first time, their whole glorious postseason - and that silver trophy - won't mean as much. It's a lament heard by many superstars, but Nowitzki's indifference amid much of the frenzied celebration around him showed just how serious he is about it.

Dallas capped its climb back to the NBA finals with a 100-96 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night that ended the Western finals in five games.

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The young, up-and-coming Thunder made things tough on the older, now-or-possibly-never Mavericks as they had throughout the series. And, as he has throughout the postseason, Nowitzki made the plays that mattered most. His latest highlights: swishing a 3-pointer with 1:14 left that put Dallas ahead and making a pair of free throws with 13.3 seconds left to seal it.

"It feels good to finally go back," Nowitzki said. "This time, hopefully we can finish the job."

The Mavs' only other trip to the finals was in 2006. They were up 2-0, with a big, late lead in Game 3, but wound up losing to the Miami Heat in six games. They'd won only a single playoff series since, until a tremendous run this postseason - going 12-3, with wins in 10 of the last 11 games, including a sweep of the two-time reigning champion, Lakers.

This Dallas team filled with veterans all seeking their first rings has been playing with what coach Rick Carlisle calls "a laser-like focus". It showed when they clawed back from a 15-point deficit with 5:06 left in Game 4, and again in this game, when the Mavs were down by six with 4:37 left.

They outscored the Thunder 14-4 the rest of the way, with many of their most-accomplished players making the key plays: Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Shawn Marion and Jason Terry.

Nowitzki scored 26 points, nine in the fourth quarter. For the series, he averaged 32.2 points, 11.8 in fourth quarters.

"All I can tell everybody is, we ain't done yet," team owner Mark Cuban said during the on-court trophy presentation ceremony.

Oklahoma City led for most of this game, even staying ahead during a stretch of 11 straight missed shots. But the Thunder were just too young and too inexperienced to understand how to close out a game.

When Dallas started to surge at the start and middle of the fourth quarter, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook came up with some answers. Yet, when the pressure really ratcheted up, and 21,092 fans were at their loudest, the veteran Mavericks made all the right moves.

Westbrook scored 31 points, and Durant and James Harden each scored 23. The Thunder bowed out with only their second three-game losing streak of the season.