Mavs Punch Year's First Ticket to NBA Finals

    When the playoffs began last month, no one expected the Dallas Mavericks to reach the NBA Finals, something the team had only done once before in the franchise's history.  After eliminating the Portland Trailblazers in six games in the Western Conference Quarterfinals, the team surprised fans from around the world with a second round sweep of the two-time defending NBA Champs.  Many expected the Mavs to be cold and tired after their week-long break before the Western Conference Finals began, but the team came out firing.  Dirk Nowitzki was the main reason for the team's success.  He had a career playoff high for points in Game 1 against the Thunder with 48 points and was the leading scorer in three of the five games in the series.  His biggest impact came in Game 4.  The Thunder had led the whole game and led by fifteen with just over five minutes to go.  It looked like the series would return to Dallas tied at two games a piece.  The turning point in the game came when Thunder guard James Harden fouled out.  The Mavs would go on to outscore the Thunder 17-2 in the final five minutes of regulation and win in overtime.  Nowitzki scored twelve of his eighteen second half points during the run and finished with forty on the night.

    As Game 5 approached, the Mavs were ready to close out the series at home.  The game remained close throughout and Oklahoma City led most of the way.  After Kevin Durant put the Thunder up with just under ten minutes remaining in the game, the Mavs made another remarkable run, outscoring the Thunder 24-13 in the final nine minutes.  The Mavs hav won three straight games and eight of their last nine.  They will meet the winner of the Miami-Chicago Eastern Conference Finals, Miami currently up 3-1, in the NBA Finals.  If Miami is able to close out the series against Chicago, the year's NBA Finals will be a rematch of the 2006 NBA Finals, the first appearance in the NBA Finals for both teams.