OAKLAND, Calif. – His performance wasn't as dramatic as Dirk Nowitzki's.

He didn't come up big in the fourth quarter like Devin Harris.

But the 11 points scored by DeSagana Diop in the Mavericks' Game 5 victory may have been the most important of the bunch.

I know what you're thinking. This guy doesn't know his acute angle from his binary system. Why single out a bit offensive performance in a game that produced 230 points?

Well, because Diop's subtle contribution made a big difference in the Mavericks' offense.

A team that failed to score 100 points in three of the first four games erupted for 118. A team that had gone 41.4 percent from the field in the series shot 50.6 percent in Game 5.

Golden State's defense earned rave reviews as the Warriors broke to a 3-1 series lead. We marveled at the speed and athletic ability of a group not known for its defense. We credited the Warriors, along with Don Nelson's inside knowledge, in shutting down Nowitzki.

Guess what? It's a lot easier to shut down a player or an offense when it has five defenders to throw at four offensive threats.

Diop and Erick Dampier combined for a meager 13 points in the first four games of the series. Devean George, who has seen time at center to match up with the smaller Warriors, shot just 20 percent from the field in the first four games.

It didn't matter who was at center. Golden State would ignore him and use the extra defender to double-team Nowitzki, disrupt the passing lanes or crowd the pick-and-roll.

"A lot of times, they just don't guard them," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said of his centers. "They're going to double-team Dirk. They're going to double-team Josh [Howard] or Jet [Jason Terry]. If they can just be a threat, it really helps us out tremendously."

Johnson lit a fire under Nowitzki for Game 5. But that fire may not have ignited the Mavericks forward the way it did if Diop hadn't slipped into the middle of the defense and dragged a defender with him.

Popeye Jones and Bernard Griffith of the Mavericks' player development staff studied film with Diop before Tuesday's game. They isolated his offense and showed how they thought he could get eight to 12 points against the Warriors if he made certain moves and counters.

Diop responded by going 5-of-5 from the field on his way to a playoff career-high 11 points. He did just enough to create more room for his teammates to operate.

"Spacing is key," sixth man Jerry Stackhouse said. "We really need that guy [center] to duck in there, because not only does it occupy someone on the weak side, when we get it to the weak side, we've been getting production."

Dampier is a more polished offensive player than Diop. Why doesn't he see more time in this series?

Dampier does have a decent low-post game against defenders his size. But against smaller defenders, he struggles. His tendency to put the ball on the floor before making a move leaves him open to being stripped by the defense. He bobbles too many passes when he drives to the basket.

Watch when Dampier is on the court. It's not unusual for point guard Baron Davis to defend him and leave the center as soon as the ball swings into his area.

Diop is a much better fit for the Mavericks against a small team. His agility allows him to keep up on offense, yet give the team a defensive presence at the rim.

The statistics show the most productive lineup for the Mavericks in this series is when Diop is on the floor with Nowitzki, Howard, Terry and Harris. The same was true in last year's conference finals against Phoenix.

"His time on the court has been a huge plus throughout the series," assistant coach Del Harris said.

Let's not go overboard here. Nelson isn't sitting atop his Oakland high rise, smoking a cigar and devising a plan to stop Diop in tonight's Game 6. But at least now, he has to account for him.

That's all the Mavericks want.