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San Antonio and Dallas on the brink of going to Round 2

Dallas and San Antonio reached the brink of advancing to the second round of the National Basketball Association playoffs with tension-packed triumphs on Monday.

Germany's Dirk Nowitzki contributed 23 points and 13 rebounds to spark the Dallas Mavericks past Houston 103-100 to grab a 3-2 edge in their best-of-seven series. Chinese center Yao Ming scored a game-high 30 points in a losing cause.

"Whew, what a game," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said. "At this point, it doesn't matter how you win: good, bad, ugly, fast, slow, whatever. We made some plays down the stretch that you just can't coach."

Tim Duncan produced 39 points and 14 rebounds while French guard Tony Parker scored 11 of his 29 points in overtime to lead San Antonio past host Denver 126-115, giving the Spurs a 3-1 lead in their series.

"I was aggressive," Duncan said. "I got a little confidence early and it just went from there."

In the night's only other game, Washington's Juan Dixon came off the bench to score a career-high 35 points after a 1-for-10 shooting performance in game three to spark the Wizards past Chicago 106-99, evening their series at 2-2.

The Mavericks could advance to a second-round matchup for the fourth time in five years, with regular-season champion Phoenix waiting if Dallas should win game six on Thursday at Houston.

Dallas led the entire second half but never comfortably, nearly squandering an 11-point lead in the final four-and-a-half minutes but holding on with the aid of five missed Yao free throws and a controversial call.

"It's hard to swallow," Houston star Tracy McGrady said. "This is great basketball. Every game is going down to the wire. Hate to lose but love this series."

Two Jerry Stackhouse free throws boosted the Mavericks' edge to 99-94 and Yao sandwiched a dunk and two free throws around a Nowitzki basket to bring the Rockets within 101-98 with 17 seconds to play.

The Mavericks inbounded to Michael Finley, who was trapped in the corner by two defenders. Neither touched Finley but the Rockets were whistled for a foul and Finley made a free throw.

McGrady made a layup with 7.4 seconds to play, making it 102-100. Jason Terry missed 1-of-2 free throws with 4.8 seconds remaining, giving the Rockets a chance to force overtime.

McGrady was fouled in the backcourt by Stackhouse and missed the first free throw, then deliberately missed the second, grabbed the rebound, dribbled beyond the 3-point arc and fired a jumper that clanged off the rim at the buzzer.

"I have no complaints with our effort," said Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy, fined US$100,000 on Monday for saying referees called more penalties on Yao.

"Our effort was good. We didn't play well enough to come away with a road win. We're going to need to play better and that's what we are planning to do," he said.

The Spurs could advance to the second round with a home victory today.

Duncan was dominant inside but fouled out with 2:55 remaining in overtime after Carmelo Anthony slipped and fell after Duncan had touched him. But the Spurs, ignited by Parker, ended the game with a 13-8 run for the victory.

"Tony was awesome," Duncan said. "These guys were great in overtime. They kept attacking and played great."

Earl Boykins came off the bench to lead Denver with 32 points while Anthony added 28 for the Nuggets. Argentina's Manu Ginobili added 24 points for the Spurs.
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