Mavericks thwart Spurs

Michael Flinley takes on the 'Admiral' in Dallas

Dallas 112-108 San Antonio

The Dallas Mavericks gave themselves a play-off lifeline with a hard won victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.

But they still have much to do if they want to advance to the Western Conference final against Los Angeles or Sacramento.

Despite the valiant efforts of German Dirk Nowitzki - who scored 30 points - and Michael Finley (25), Dallas still trail San Antonio 3-1 in the best-of-seven series.

The home crowd warmed to Nowitzki, who soldiered on after having a tooth knocked out in the fourth quarter.

Matt Perry and Elizabeth Hurley look on

After taking a hard shoulder to the mouth from Spurs guard Terry Porter, he jumped over the scorer's table and ran to the locker room, returning soon afterwards to play out the final four minutes.

San Antonio, who erased a 17-point second-quarter deficit, closed to 105-103 with less than two minutes remaining, on two free throws and a dunk by Tim Duncan.

And the teams proceeded to shut each other out until Finley, who scored 12 points in the fourth quarter, netted for a 107-103 Dallas lead with 20 seconds to play.

This narrow margin proved unassailable and - at the very least - delayed San Antonio's celebrations for a little while.