DALLAS – Minutes away from finally leading their first-round playoff series, the Dallas Mavericks proved they deserved it.

Keeping alive rebounds, diving for loose balls, and making clutch shot after clutch shot, Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks held off a late charge by Houston and pulled out a 103-100 victory last night, putting them ahead 3-2 in a series they trailed 0-2 after their last game in Dallas.

After overcoming fourth-quarter deficits of eight and six points to win the last two games, the Mavs led by 11 just seconds into the final period this time. But Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming rallied the Rockets, combining for their last 13 points and getting them within two with 7.4 seconds left.

Dallas’s Jason Terry scrambled to grab an inbounds pass, was fouled, and made one of two foul shots to restore a three point cushion. Dallas immediately fouled McGrady on the ensuing inbounds pass and missed both foul shots, but got his own rebound and put up a potentially tying 3-pointer from the left corner. It missed and time expired with McGrady on the ground, practically under some courtside seats.

Home fans were happy for the first time this series and now Dallas has two chances to join the 1969 Lakers and ’94 Rockets as the only teams to win a seven-game series after dropping the first two at home. Mavs fans will be glad to know those Lakers and Rockets squads were propelled by home wins in Game 5s.

Game 6 is Thursday night in Houston, and Rockets coach Jeff Van Gundy may have more on the line than just trying to force a seventh game. The NBA fined Van Gundy $100,000 – the largest amount ever for a coach – earlier yesterday, a day after he accused officials of targeting center Yao Ming this postseason and said Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is to blame.

While Van Gundy laughed off the penalty and Yao offered to pick up half the tab, the matter jumped to another, far more serious level.

Commissioner David Stern called the fine “an intermediary step,” adding that an investigation will continue once the Rockets finish their playoff run.

He said further punishment is possible, even implying that Van Gundy could face a lifetime ban.

“‘If he’s going to say things like that, he’s not going to continue in this league,” Stern said. “If the attitude reflected in those comments continues to be public, he’s going to have a big problem with me as long as I’m commissioner.”

Van Gundy got himself into trouble by telling three reporters at the team hotel in Dallas on Sunday night that a referee not working the playoffs called him after the Rockets went up 2-0 and warned that Yao was mentioned in an online evaluation from supervisor of officials Ronnie Nunn.

Van Gundy added that because Cuban “has been hard on” the league and officials, “he’s gotten the benefit.”

He stood by his complaints yesterday and said he’s made many of them privately to the league all season.

As for protecting his source, Van Gundy practically rolled his eyes at his refusal to give up his friend during his conversation with league security.

“I felt like I was in Watergate or something,” he said.

When first learning about Van Gundy’s comments, Cuban said in an email that the accusations were “crazy” and “an insult to officials.” He also noted that Dallas center Erick Dampier has picked up quick fouls in every game in this series.