DALLAS, Texas: German star Dirk Nowitzki scored 44 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to give Dallas a 119-117 victory on Monday against Denver to stay alive in the National Basketball Association playoffs.

The victory by the Mavericks denied Denver a sweep of the second round best-of-seven Western Conference series, although the Nuggets could still advance by capturing game five at home on Wednesday.

"We're not done yet. We played for one more chance," Nowitzki said. "We've still got our hands full. We will let it rip one more time and see what happens."