themselves with the sixth spot in the Western Conference playoff bracket for 2009. This was after going 50–32 (ninth consecutive 50+-win season) and about three to four weeks earlier, were not even sure if they were going to make the eighth and final spot. A run of 5–1 in their last six regular season games got them to a game over the Hornets for sixth place. Dirk Nowitzki also entered the postseason with a streak of 25 consecutive games of scoring 20 or more points, which was ended in the first game of the quarterfinals series versus the arch-rival, San Antonio Spurs. The Mavericks surprised many people by winning Game 1, 105–97 in San Antonio. The Spurs quickly won game two in a rout. As the series shifted to Dallas, who had only lost one game there after the All-Star Break, won both Games 3 and 4. San Antonio was just trying to win Game 5 to extend the series, but they could not do it as the Mavericks closed out the series with a 13-point-victory, 106–93. With the Victory, the Mavericks advanced to the Conference Semi-finals for the first time since 2006. In the semifinals, they would face the second-seeded Denver Nuggets, who were fresh off an easy 4–1 series win against the New Orleans Hornets, including a 58-point win in New Orleans. The Mavericks would stay close with the Nuggets in the first three quarters of Games 1 and 2, but it was the fourth quarter where Carmelo Anthony and the Nuggets would finally wake up, as they took the first two games by double-digit figures. Game 3 in Dallas was close the whole way, and Dallas seemed to be going on to win, leading by five points with less than a minute to go. But Carmelo Anthony hit a cold-blooded three-pointer to give the Nuggets a 106–105 victory. The play generated quite a bit of controversy, because Maverick guard Antoine Wright clearly fouled Anthony, but since there is no replay used in the NBA, the Mavericks suffered a heart breaking game 3 loss. It was later announced by the league that the referees made the wrong call, but despite this the Mavericks still faced a 3–0 deficit in the series. 44 points in Game 4 from Dirk Nowitzki would save the Mavericks season, sending the series back to Denver for a Game 5, the series in Denver's