Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals [PHOTOS]

Dirk wants a ring.  Period.  It's really obvious that even though the Dallas Mavericks won the Western Conference last night by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 100-96,  Dirk Nowitzki knows that the job is not done yet.  Dirk was handed the Western Conference trophy last night by Mavericks owner, Mark Cuban, but he didn't stay around long for the post-game celebration.  Dirk knows all too well after their meltdown to the Miami Heat in the 2006 NBA Finals, that their job is far from complete. More after the jump.

When asked by a reporter why he left the post-game celebration early, Dirk said:

“We’ve got one of those trophies already,” Nowitzki said. “This is nice for a day, but we set our goals in October to win it all. We haven’t done it yet.”

After the win over the Thunder in game 4, ESPN analyst and hall-of-famer, Earvin "Magic" Johnson called Dirk's performance "legendary."  He even dared to compare his performance to Michael Jordan:

After the game, when Dirk was asked about what Magic Johnson had said of his performance, he said "I didn't rebound well tonight." Wow. That is a man who knows he can always give more and do better. That's the kind of stuff that champions are made of.

Bottom line, Dirk and the Mavericks are on a mission, and it ends with a nice shiny ring and trophy.  I can't wait to see the performance they put on in the NBA Finals. Check out the picture gallery (above) from their win last night in Dallas. It contains 41 pictures in honor of Dirk Nowitzki!