On a board in the Mavericks' locker room was a simple sign that said the team had an 11 a.m. flight today.

For the longest time, it looked like that flight was going to Cancun or The Bahamas.

But Dirk Nowitzki and Devin Harris made sure the travel arrangements were for the Bay Area and Game 6 against the Golden State Warriors. Vacation can wait. The Mavericks survived to fight at least one more day in the first round against Golden State by scoring the last 15 points, erasing a nine-point deficit in the final 3:07 and grabbing a 118-112 victory Tuesday night at American Airlines Center.

The Mavericks led by 21 points in the first half, lost all that by the third quarter and were getting outworked in the fourth, before their last, final push cut Golden State's lead in the best-of-seven series to 3-2.

For the first time this series, they made good on their season-long theme of closing out games strongly.

"Fortunately, we were able to finish," coach Avery Johnson, "Hey, this is a battle. They're not playing like an eight seed. But now, there's a lot of pressure on them. There's 10,000 pounds on their right arm up there in Oakland."

Golden State will try to finish things Thursday at Oracle Arena. The Mavericks will try to force Game 7 at AAC on Saturday.

As for the pressure shifting to Don Nelson's bunch, he wasn't buying it.

"The pressure's on everybody," he said. "The last team to win gains some momentum, and the team that loses probably loses some. Bu the pressure's not on us any more than it is them."

Maybe not. But the Warriors now are faced with winning Thursday to pull off an epic upset of the Mavs or face a loud and rowdy crowd in Game 7 Saturday at AAC. Tuesday's crowd was the largest ever for basketball at AAC.

The Mavericks hope their finishing kick will provide that swing in momentum as they face another must-win situation, this time on the road.

"Like I've said all along, the whole series can turn on one sequence," owner Mark Cuban said.

The Mavericks shouldn't lack for confidence the way they closed Tuesday's wildly entertaining contest.

It was Nowitzki who scored 12 of their last 15 points, including a pair of cold-blooded 3-pointers. He finished with 30 points on just 15 shots.

"I don't think I need to prove anything to myself," he said. "We won 67 games with moving the ball and playing together, and that's the way we're going to win or not."

He also said the Mavericks have done nothing yet.

"They're probably the best 8 seed this league has ever seen," he said. "They've got so many weapons and shooters, and they just keep coming. I think we realize by now, if we want to win this series, we've got to take it. They're not going to give it to us."

The end was a mesmerizing whirl of great plays and momentum shifts.

Harris had put the Mavericks up, 97-94, after scoring seven straight Mavericks' points. He finished with 16 points, almost all on drives to the buckets, and seven assists. Without him, the Mavericks would have been left for dead.

"I just tried to do what I do best, get to the rim and the free-throw line," Harris said. "The big difference is guys didn't get down, even when we were behind. We kept our composure."

Only after they lost it briefly. Baron Davis - yes, him again - had 27 points, 21 in the second half and eight points and four assists in the fourth quarter. It was his 3-pointer - the Warriors' franchise playoff record 16th of the evening - that put them ahead, 112-103, with 3:23 showing.

Nowitzki, playing his best game of the series, wasn't finished. He hit a pair of 3-pointers and, as Jason Richardson missed, Harris sliced into the paint for a bucket and was fouled.

He missed the free throw, which almost was tipped in by the Mavs, leaving Golden State up, 112-111. Stephen Jackson, who later was thrown out of his second game in the series, missed for the Warriors with a minute left and Nowitzki was fouled going to the rim with 48.6 showing. He gave the Mavericks a one-point lead with the free throws.

Finally, the 3-pointers started clanking for the Warriors as Mickael Pietrus and Richardson missed. Josh Howard hit one of two free throws and Matt Barnes couldn't gather the rebound. When Nowitzki closed things out with four free throws, the Mavericks were headed to the Bay Area.

"We made some very poor judgments down the stretch, letting Nowitzki get open for two threes with a nice lead," Nelson said. "And not keeping Devin Harris in front of us cost us a lot.

"We played our hearts out."

So did the Mavericks when it counted most.