After a dominant first half, the Dallas Mavericks fell asleep in the third quarter, nearly letting the Golden State Warriors back in the game.
However, they righted the ship thanks to a strong offensive effort from Dirk Nowitzki and a tough zone defense, pulling away for a 112-103 road win.
The Mavericks, who are tied with the Denver Nuggets and the Houston Rockets for the sixth seed in the Western Conference, needed this game desperately, and Rick Carlisle treated it like a playoff game, frequently calling timeouts to halt Warriors runs in the second half.
Golden State got a strong effort from rookie Klay Thompson, who finished with 24 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists, as well as David Lee, as he had a huge match-up advantage against the Dallas front-line.
However, when the game was still close in the fourth quarter, they had no answer for Dirk in the low block, in a scene reminiscent from the Mavericks championship run in 2011.
For more news and analysis of the Mavericks, head over to Mavs Moneyball.