Dallas ? Raja Bell was the unlikely hero for Dallas, which usually depends on its big three.

Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki and Michael Finley all had solid games for the Mavericks, but it was Bell who outshot Sacramento in a game-turning third quarter of a 112-93 victory Tuesday night.

Dallas took a 3-2 series lead heading into Thursday’s Game 6 at Sacramento.

“That’s what we needed,” Mavericks forward and former Kansas University player Raef LaFrentz said. “We can’t just rely on three or four guys to carry us. Raja was huge, and really helped us.”

Bell provided a big boost for the suddenly re-energized Mavericks with four baskets and nine of his 13 points in the third quarter. That was one more basket than Sacramento managed while being outscored 29-10 in the period.

“Bell was our best player in Game 4, and that is not saying a whole lot, but he was really the only player that did well in that game,” said Mavericks coach Don Nelson. “He played well again tonight. He was being active and rebounding. He is physically able to do some things that our players can’t do.”

Nash, held to just six points in Game 4, scored 25 points. He was just 5-of-12 from the field, but hit 15 of 16 free throws. All five starters and Nick Van Exel scored in double figures.

“Tonight was an absolute perfect picture of a team performance,” Nash said. “It’s a lot of fun when we play like that.”

Spurs 96, Lakers 94

San Antonio — The Spurs have pushed Los Angeles to the brink of elimination.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson, left, who underwent angioplasty Saturday, talks with center Shaquille O'Neal during their game against San Antonio. The Spurs ruined Jackson's return to the team with a 96-94 victory in their Western Conference semifinals showdown Tuesday in San Antonio.

But the three-time champions are proving they won’t go away easily — if at all.

One game after overcoming a 16-point deficit, the Lakers nearly erased a 25-point hole before falling 96-94 when Robert Horry’s three-pointer with three seconds left went in and out.

David Robinson got the final rebound, letting the Spurs, who never trailed, take a 3-2 lead in the second-round series. San Antonio ruined the return of Lakers coach Phil Jackson three days after undergoing a heart procedure.

The Lakers will have to win the next two games to advance to the Western Conference finals. Otherwise, their postseason will end the same way it did the last time they failed to win it all — going down to San Antonio in the conference semifinals. That was in 1999, when the Spurs won the title.

Game 6 is Thursday night in Los Angeles, with a possible Game 7 in San Antonio Saturday. The Lakers are 0-5 this season at the Spurs’ new home, the SBC Center.

Tim Duncan led San Antonio with 27 points and 14 rebounds, and Tony Parker had 21 points, but they were as cold as all their teammates when it mattered most.

Jackson watched Game 4 on TV hours after being released from a hospital.