stand each other a lot, especially because of the
BOSTON -- Putting together a five-game winning streak and getting 10 games above . NHL Jerseys Sale .500 were once common achievements for the Dallas Mavericks. Now, both are season highs as Dallas slowly works its way back into playoff contention in the Western Conference. Dirk Nowitzki scored 20 points, Shawn Marion finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and the Mavericks beat the Boston Celtics 102-91 Sunday night to extend their winning streak to five straight. "There are encouraging signs, but theres no way we can exhale or start feeling good," coach Rick Carlisle said. Jose Calderon added 18 points and Monta Ellis played through a sore hamstring and scored 11 for Dallas, which won for the sixth time in seven games and pulled 10 games above .500 for the first time this season at 31-21. "Were looking to move up," Nowitzki said. "If you look at the standings, (places) five through eight is only separated by a couple of games. Wed love to keep pushing." Vince Carter scored 14, Devin Harris had 12 points and Samuel Dalembert grabbed 11 rebounds for Dallas. The Mavericks led by six at halftime and pulled away in the third quarter by outscoring the Celtics 28-18. "The third quarter and the start of the fourth killed us and took us out of the game," Boston coach Brad Stevens said. Rajon Rondo had 15 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for Boston, which had won three straight games. Jeff Green scored 18 and Jared Sullinger had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Celtics. Boston managed to stay close through the first half despite shooting 27 per cent, then Dallas took command early in the third quarter and pulled ahead by as many as 24 points before the Celtics rallied when it was too late. "We still kept it close. That was the beauty of it," Sullinger said. "We played hard, but they just got away and the deficit was so big we couldnt dig ourselves out of that hole." The Mavericks opened the second half on a 16-5 run, holding the Celtics to two field goals through the first 6:29 of the third quarter. A 3-pointer by Green got Boston within 53-43, but Calderon answered from beyond the arc and Marion and Dalembert followed with layups to extend the Mavericks lead to 60-43. "In the third quarter, we were doing the same kind of defence, but now we were sharing the ball and making open shots and thats what the difference was," Calderon said. Bostons only scoring run in the period was a 4-0 spurt late on layups by Kris Humphries and Kelly Olynyk, which Dallas negated in the last minute on two foul shots by Harris and an alley-oop from Harris to Brandan Wright with 5 seconds remaining to give the Mavericks a 72-56 lead entering the fourth. Wright opened the fourth with another alley-oop from Carter, who added a layup for Dallas eighth point in a row and the Mavericks lead was up to 76-56. The Celtics put together a late run to make it close down the stretch before running out of time. Rondo and Green hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull Boston within 96-84 with 2:25 remaining. Johnson added another 3-pointer with 1:18 to get the Celtics within 98-89, but Calderon hit a layup to put the Mavericks back up by double-digits. NOTES: Olynyk finished with 14 points and Humphries scored 10 for Boston. ... Marion got his seventh double-double of the season. ... The Mavericks had one other four-game winning streak this season, but had reached five beating Utah on Friday and Boston on Sunday. ... Rondo was the only Boston starter to make more than two field goals in the first half with four. ... Nowitzki scored 15 in the first half. ... The Celtics shot 27 per cent (13 for 48) in the first half and opened the third quarter 2 for 10. Custom NHL Jerseys .Y. - The Philadelphia Eagles game at Green Bay against the Packers on Nov. Fake NHL Jerseys . - Skiing far more aggressively than in her season debut a day earlier, Lindsey Vonn was in provisional 10th place after the first 45 skiers in a World Cup downhill on Saturday. https://www.chinanhljerseys.us/ . The Maple Leafs will play on the road for the first time this season after dropping home contests to Montreal and Pittsburgh to begin the campaign. After losing a one-goal decision to the Canadiens on Wednesday, they were bested 5-2 on Saturday by the Penguins.PARIS – Novak Djokovic was just a few points away from losing to Milos Raonic a couple weeks ago in Rome, so it was no surprise that the No. 2 seed at the French Open lavished praise on the eighth-seeded Canadian on Sunday night after both men won their fourth-round matches easily to setup a quarterfinal showdown. "Milos is playing the tennis of his life," said Djokovic. "Hes top-10 now, an established top-10 player. He has one of the best serves in the world. Very powerful, very precise." Raonic had 17 aces when the two hooked up at the Masters 1000 event in Italy on May 17. Only American John Isner (82) has more aces than Raonic (72) at Roland Garros this year. "When he serves that well, there is not much you can do, really," said Djokovic, who entered Mondays matches as the tournament leader in break points won (29). "He puts a lot of pressure on his opponent and he has improved a lot from the baseline now. With his backhand, hes hitting down the line, hes very aggressive, which he should be, of course, for somebody of his height and his build. You know, hes powerful and he uses that serve. Forehand is also very good from back of the court. So there is an evident improvement in his game and he feels more confident on the court. You can feel that. The recent match we had in Rome, as you mentioned, was very close." Djokovic lost the first set in a tiebreaker at the Internazionali BNL dItalia before edging Raonic in a second-set tiebreaker and winning the third and deciding set 6-3. After the three-hour battle of wills, Djokovic said he could not remember the last time he felt as helpless in the return game. "I dont expect anything different now," he said after a straight-set victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Sunday. "You know, I know that Im going to have to face somebody that is going to serve over 200 kilomeeters per hour in average throughout the whole match. Discount NHL Jerseys. But Im ready for that." Raonic, meanwhile, is also feeling confident after becoming the first Canadian man to ever reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam singles competition (in the Open era). Raonic admitted he would not have thought his breakthrough would come on the red clay in Paris, but noted he has made some subtle adjustments this year to improve his game on the slower surface. "The biggest difference I have made this year is not really making too much of a difference when I have come to the clay," the 23-year-old explained. "Just more of an approach, knowing more balls will come back, but trying to stay close, not going too far back, and all these kind of things. I have tried to sort of keep that, I was doing it on hard courts, and its been working out well for me." But Raonic is well aware of the challenge that now lays before him. Djokovic badly wants to win the title here in order to complete the career slam. "I think its more so just a mental aspect of keeping up a certain level for that long and not allowing yourself to drift away," Raonic said when asked what the key is when facing such a strong opponent in a best-of-five format. "But he also makes that demanding of you in two out of three sets. Its just about doing it a little bit longer and bringing your best tennis. Obviously, thats important." Raonic and Djokovic have had a congenial relationship on tour due in part to their shared Serbian heritage. Born in Podgorica, Montenegro in 1990, Raonic and his family relocated to Toronto in 1994. "We have a good relationship. Very friendly. Same type of cultural upbringing and background, so we understand each other a lot, especially because of the language, as well," Raonic said. "So we get along well." ' ' '
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