For the Mavericks, the first quarter was precisely what the doctor – or more accurately, the Little General – had ordered.

They hustled. They exploded. They attacked the basket. They hit 3s. They defended.

In other words, for the first time in this first-round series, the Mavericks looked like the Mavericks as they raced to a 10-point lead.

Although it didn't hold up all night – a 21-point lead vanished in about a quarter – the confidence gained from that early surge helped carry Dallas to a 118­112 win over Golden State at American Airlines Center.

If nothing else, it keeps the Grim Reaper at bay for a couple of more days. Then, we will see if the Mavericks can avoid burial in the Bay Area in Game 6.

The suspicion here is that it won't happen without the first great game from Dirk Nowitzki. We saw a good game, a 30-point game highlighted by clutch 3s and free throws at the end Tuesday night.

In the end, as he helped Dallas rally from a late nine-point deficit, Nowitzki delivered on coach Avery Johnson's pregame wishes.

"You're one of the top players in the league," Johnson said he told Nowitzki. "Be yourself. You're not a role player."

Nowitzki was good early, as were all the Mavericks. That 38-28 first quarter featured 22 points from their big three scorers – Nowitzki and Josh Howard had eight and Jason Terry had six.

This was the first time the Mavericks proved they could be the aggressor in this series. They proved it to themselves and they showed it to the Warriors, who have talked respectfully of the No. 1 seed but have never acted the least bit scared of the Mavericks.

The effort and the efficiency displayed in that quarter merely showed the potential for what the Mavericks could have done in this series and what they still might do. They will have to sustain it for far longer to be successful in Game 6.

Here, in a do-or-die situation, they ran out to a 53-32 lead with 5:20 to play in the second quarter. When a No. 1 seed does that to a No. 8, you expect it to be over. You expect that especially when the visitors know that they only have to win one of the last three games to advance to the second round.

But no. Back came the Warriors.

And in a hurry.

Less than 10 minutes later, a 3 from Jason Richardson tied the game at 67-67.

All the momentum kept flowing in favor of the Warriors, who banged in 16 of 35 shots from 3-point land. Their confidence soared. Their lead was nine points with three minutes to go when Nowitzki decided to come out of his five-game slumber and deliver a hint of why he might be picking up the league's MVP award some day soon.

Nowitzki hit a big 3-point shot to cut the lead to 112-106. Then, at the other end, he blocked Matt Barnes' drive off the glass and grabbed the rebound.

Then Nowitzki lofted in another 3 to make it a three-point game. With two minutes to go, the Mavericks' crowd was alive once again.

After a Richardson miss, Devin Harris – the Mavs' MVP on this night – drove and scored but missed the free throw.

One-point game but Mavs coming.

Stephen Jackson misses a 3. Nowitzki drives to the hoop and gets fouled.

With 48.6 seconds to go, two swishes give Nowitzki 26 points and the Mavs a one-point lead.

After that, everything went the Mavericks' way – Warriors misses, Dallas free throws, balls out of bounds.

But it all goes back to that first quarter, when the Mavericks showed they could still be the boss in this series.

They need that first quarter to last for at least three and maybe four Thursday night to keep this thing alive.

For the first time, doubts are creeping into the heads of the Warriors.

But it won't matter unless Dallas plays its best game of the series in Game 6.

Without that, this was about nothing more than keeping that "choke" label off for another 48 hours.