King of Texas - or how that monkey left their back

Dirk Nowitzki put his head down and went hard to the basket, driving the Dallas Mavericks past the resilient San Antonio Spurs and into the Western Conference Finals. Nowitzki's season-saving three-point play forced overtime, where the Mavericks finally found a solution for Tim Duncan and surged to a 119-111 victory over the Spurs in a fitting Game 7 of a fantastic Conference Semifinal series.
After losing two times in the playoffs against their bogy team and triple NBA champion San Antonio, the Mavericks outlasted and dethroned the Spurs.
Team owner Mark Cuban was relieved. "That monkey, that's been on our back for so long, it's gone", he said. Now the door is wide open for the Mavericks. They host the Phoenix Suns in the first two games of the conference finals. Steve Nash (MVP of the regular season) the former teammate of the Mavericks is returning. The Mavericks have a score to settle with him and the Suns. Last year they lost in the first round of the playoffs.
Both teams survived grueling seven-game Conference Semifinals series to reach the Western Conference Finals. The Suns played in them last year, only to lose to the Spurs. The last time the Mavs were here, they lost to the Spurs in 2003. Can Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks reach the franchise's first-even NBA Finals or will former teammate and two-time MVP Steve Nash and the Suns go to their franchise's third Finals (1976 and 1993)? The Western Conference Finals tip off on Wednesday, May 24.
German hero Dirk Nowitzki seems to be in the shape of his life. He is there when crunch time is starting, leading his team from shadow into light. I will cross fingers for him, the king of Texas.