Do you still want his head?

Are you still disgusted by his passive – some will argue comatose – nature in the first four games of this series?

Dirk Nowitzki won't quiet his detractors with Tuesday's performance. But with 12 of the Mavs' last 15 points, he did quiet Golden State's thoughts of a first-round upset.

The Mavericks live to fight another day because Nowitzki started strong and finished stronger.

The Warriors still have the upper hand. The odds are with them as the series returns to Oakland.

But a forceful, productive Nowitzki cuts into those odds.

"Well, you know, I've got to make something happen," said Nowitzki, who finished with 30 points, 12 rebounds and a key block in the final minutes. "I've got to go off the dribble, post up some. I've got to shoot. If it's not there, move the ball and let other guys make the play."

It doesn't matter what you say about Nowitzki. You can't be harder on him than he is on himself.

Every star sets the bar high and is stung when he falls short. Most get mad and move on.

Not Nowitzki. He internalizes the disappointment. He is too reflective for his own good and questions himself more than any other athlete of his stature.

His performance down the stretch will help.

"He definitely stepped up," sixth man Jerry Stackhouse said. "He's just playing, not worrying about anything else, what the defense is doing to him.

"Sometimes you can overthink it. Tonight, he made basketball plays."

Is there a star in this league with less ego? The only one who comes close is Steve Nash.

The problem is Nowitzki too often lets the opponent compromise his brilliance. He takes what the defense gives him and defers to a fault.

If you're team is up 3-1, making sure your teammates are involved is good.

If you're down 3-1, as the Mavs were heading into Game 5, you don't defer. You realize a first-round flop will stain your image more than it would Avery Johnson's or Josh Howard's or Jason Terry's.

It's not just this series. Nowitzki's performance began to drift in the final weeks of the regular season.

He averaged just over 20 points and 5.7 rebounds in April. Tuesday marked only the second time in the last six weeks that he scored 30 or more points in a game.

Johnson talked to his star player Tuesday morning. The coach told Nowitzki he was one of the top players in the league, not a role player. He challenged him to be more aggressive.

Was he receptive?

"Very receptive," Johnson said. "We've had a few of those conversations before. It's not just on Dirk. But there are certain indicators, having played with him and now having been his coach, when I know if he's on top of his game."

Nowitzki wasn't hurt by the talk. Remember, no ego. He calls Johnson a great motivator. He mentioned what Johnson did with David Robinson in San Antonio.

Critics compare Nowitzki to some of the greats of the game – Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, etc. – and lament how he comes up short.

Nowitzki has the skill. But his temperament isn't the same as those and other players. It's more like Robinson.

"Anytime we fall down or something doesn't go right, it's always, 'What's up with Dirk?,' " owner Mark Cuban said before the game. "I'll take what's up with Dirk every time. I stay through thick and thin, every time.

"The fact you're able to ask questions about him means he's taken that responsibility any number of times and never shirked it. That's the kind of guy you want."

It was the player Dallas got in the closing moment of Game 5.

"I love who he is," Cuban said. "It is who he is. I would be a lot more worried if he tried to react and adjust like you guys wanted him to or respond the way you guys wanted him to.

"He's a warrior. I know him. I trust him."