Dallas Mavericks center Dirk Nowitzki looked all dapper in his suit and tie on Tuesday night as he was honored by the NBA at the press conference announcing the NBA's Most Valuable Player.

Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer had his own press conference in the Jazz locker room on Tuesday night as he explained how the Utah Jazz finished off Golden State 100-87, sending his team to the Western Conference finals.

As good of a regular season as Nowitzki had, Boozer had just done something the NBA's MVP couldn't do.

Beat Golden State.

Nowitzki, who averaged 24.6 points per game on .502 shooting from the field during the regular season, beat out Phoenix guard Steve Nash for the award. Kobe Bryant was third, Tim Duncan was fourth and LaBron James finished fifth.

Boozer didn't get a single first-place vote. He finished with one fourth-place vote and four fifth-place votes, officially finishing 10th in the balloting. If a recount were taken after the first two rounds of the playoffs, Boozer may not win but you can be sure he would get some votes.

Boozer led Utah with 21 points, including two clutch free throws with 1:05 left in the game to give the Jazz a 93-87 lead that helped them finish off Golden State and win the series 4-1 while leaving Jazz fans celebrating like it was 1998.

How good was Boozer on Tuesdayfi

Consider this.

Deron Williams didn't score his first points until two minutes left in the third quarter.

Utah had a whopping 25 turnovers and shot free throws like a fan pulled out of the stands for a halftime promotion.

Utah made just 4-of-10 free throws in the third quarter and made 21-of-33 free throws (63 percent) for the game. At one point late in the third quarter and early fourth quarter, Utah missed four straight.

How do you win playoff games in the NBA by doing thatfi

You win with consistent production like that of Boozer and with a little help from his friends. Jazz guard Derek Fisher gave his former team a proper sendoff by scoring 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting. He also made 4-of-5 3-pointers and Andrei Kirilenko was sensational. He made 8-of-12 shots from the field and set a new career playoff high with 21 points. Kirilenko led all players in rebounds with 15, but it was Boozer's consistency that has the Jazz in the NBA's Final Four for the first time in nine years.

In the first four games against Golden State, Boozer averaged 25.0 points per game, 14.0 rebounds and an unbelievable shooting percentage of .621 from the field, along with .757 from the free-throw line.

Boozer scored 17 points in Game 1, 30 points in Game 2, 19 in Game 3, and in the pivotal Game 4, he had his best game of the series with 34 points on 13-of-19 shooting form the field.

Tuesday night, he turned in another MVP-type performance by 9-of-16 shots from the field and pulling down 14 rebounds.

He exposed Golden State's Achilles heel, something the NBA's MVP couldn't do.

In Dallas' first-round series against Golden State, Nowitzki averaged 19.7 points per game. His shooting percentage dropped from over 50 percent in the regular season to just .383 from the field and just .211 from the 3-point line.

While Nowitzki's numbers took a dive against Dallas, Boozer never looked better. He came into Tuesday night's game averaging 24.7 points and 12.1 rebounds per game and shooting .537 from the field.

Nowitzki is the league's MVP. Boozer is Utah's MVP.

Nowitzki got the trophy. Boozer got the win.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page C1.