Los Angeles  - Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks weren't ready to go on vacation just yet. The German erupted for 19 of his 44 points in the final quarter, including the go-ahead jumper with 1:05 left, and the Mavericks avoided a sweep by edging the Denver Nuggets 119-117 on Monday night in Game Four of their Western Conference semifinal playoff series.

"We didn't want to go home," said Nowitzki, who shot 14-of-25 from the floor and grabbed 13 rebounds. "We got some pride in this team, and we're not done yet."

Rick Carlisle praised his superstar.

"They're a very few guys I've been around in this league who are as strong-willed as Dirk," the Mavericks coach said. "Larry Bird is one of them, Reggie Miller is another one. They somehow find a way to get it done. He's one of the great ones."

Dallas trails the best-of-seven series 3-1, but will look to stay alive in Game Five at Denver on Wednesday night. However, no team has ever rallied to win a series after falling into a 3-0 hole.

"Why not be part of history?" asked Mavs guard Jason Kidd. "We have nothing to lose, the pressure is on them to end the series."

Josh Howard scored 21 points while Kidd finished with 13 and 10 rebounds for Dallas, which avoided its first ever sweep in a seven-game series.

"Every time this team has had to answer a really tough challenge, it's answered the call," Carlisle said. "We're still alive and we're going to keep battling."

Carmelo Anthony had a career-playoff-high 41 points, while Chauncey Billups added 24 for Denver, which gets another shot to advance to its first conference finals appearance since 1985.

"You can't take anything away from Dallas, they played a great game and Dirk was tremendous, making some tough shots down the stretch," Anthony said. "But we still control this series. I'm sure we'll be ready for Game Five, now that we get a chance to finish it off on our home-court."

In a physical contest, featuring seven technicals and two flagrant fouls, the Mavericks overcame an early 14-point deficit to take their first lead since the opening quarter, 114-112 on Nowitzki's high-arching jumper with 65 seconds left.

After Billups turned the ball over, Howard hit a pair of free throws, but Anthony countered, cutting it back to two. Kenyon Martin then fouled Nowitzki, who sank both tosses from the stripe with 8.3 ticks remaining to put the hosts ahead, 118-114.

Anthony's three-pointer with 3.1 seconds remaining drew the Nuggets within one. Jason Terry the made his first free throw with 1.1 ticks to go, but intentionally missed the second. Anthony grabbed the rebound, but Denver had no timeout left and this 90-foot heave missed at the final buzzer.

"It was a big win but we still have our hands full," Nowitzki said. "We're going to go to Denver with nothing to lose, let it all rip and see what happens."

Elsewhere Cleveland Cavaliers 84, Atlanta Hawks 74 LeBron James and Cavaliers swept their way into the Eastern Conference finals, but they aren't ready to celebrate just yet.

League MVP James had 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as the Cavaliers closed out the Hawks 4-0 in their semifinal series.

Even though the Cavaliers extended their NBA record of winning all eight games by double digits in two playoff series, the top seeds are not ready to break open the champagne.

"Why should we celebrate? James asked. "We're excited to be playing great basketball, but we're a team playing for a championship. We're not satisfied with anything short of getting to the Finals or trying to compete to win it."

The top-seeded Cavaliers will face either Orlando Magic or the defending NBA Champion Boston Celtics, with their semifinal series currently knotted at 2-2.

Delonte West scored 21 points, Zydrunas Ilgauskas had 14 points with 10 rebounds, while Mo Williams added 12 points for the Cavaliers, who held the hosts to 31.5 per cent field goal shooting (23-for-73) and dominated the boards 48-33.

"It goes all the way back to childhood: Defence wins championships," West said. "We've been learning that since day one."

After beating the Hawks by an average of 21 points in the first three games, the Cavaliers faced their first test and responded to the challenge.

Cleveland led 76-72 when James made a layup and free throw after drawing a foul to open up a seven-point advantage with 2:03 remaining.

Atlanta's Joe Johnson sank two free throws to make it 79-74. However, James spotted Williams out of double team, and the sharpshooter buried the game-sealing three-pointer with 52 seconds left.

Josh Smith scored 26 points and Joe Johnson added 18 for the banged up Hawks, who were hampered by injuries to starters Al Horford (ankle) Marvin Williams (wrist).

"I've never been one for excuses, but we'd like to see how we would fare being healthy," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "We were banged up, we just didn't have enough.

"But you have to give the credit, they're playing at a championship level, and they have a legitimate chance at winning the title."