Nowitzki’s 50 puts Mavs in charge

DALLAS – Down by seven and feeling as if a tremendous season might be slipping away, Dirk Nowitzki turned to his Dallas Mavericks teammates during a timeout and simply said, “Let’s go.”

They went all right – all the way to the brink of the NBA Finals.

Nowitzki scored 50 points to carry the Mavericks to a 117-101 victory over the Phoenix Suns Thursday night and a 3-2 lead in the Western Conference finals.

“I tried to make something happen,” Nowitzki said.

The 7-footer led Dallas on an immediate 10-0 run following his third-quarter declaration, then personally outscored the Phoenix Suns 22-20 in the final period.

“Pretty special,” Dallas coach Avery Johnson said.

Nowitzki scored 15 straight Mavericks points during the fourth quarter and finished with 50, setting a club record for a playoff game and matching Kobe Bryant for the most by anyone this postseason. Bryant also did it against Phoenix, but in overtime.

What makes Nowitzki’s breakout game more impressive is that it comes following his worst game in months, a 3-for-13, 11-point effort that woefully showed how much Dallas depends on him. The Mavs lost that game by 20.

Nowitzki admitted that Johnson “let me have it” during a film session Wednesday. It may prove to be the best coaching move by Johnson, who made plenty en route to being named the NBA Coach of the Year. Nowitzki was 14 for 26 from the floor and 17 for 18 from the line.

“Whatever he did yesterday in the film session worked,” Nowitzki said.

The Mavericks also know their work isn’t done. Having let down after going up 2-1, they’ll head back to Phoenix for Game 6 Saturday night for the first of two chances to make the Finals for the first time in franchise history.

In 1988, Dallas took the Lakers to Game 7 of the conference finals but lost on the road.