BOSTON -- Putting together a five-game winning streak and getting 10 games above .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. Air Max 95 Cheap Authentic . Top-seeded Djokovic, who is making only his second appearance this year after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 54th-ranked Istomin of Uzbekistan. "It wasnt as easy as the scoreline indicates," said Djokovic, who has won in Dubai on four occasions. Cheap Wholesale Air Max 95 . His apology came before a pregame ceremony in which the team honoured its 2004 team that won Bostons first World Series championship since 1918. "I realize that I behaved bad in Boston," Ramirez said. http://www.airmax95canada.com/ . Rockhold." Known as an aggressive striker, Belfort (23-10) instead paced himself as the engaged in the early going and showed restraint by not overcommitting against the larger Rockhold (10-2). But when the opportunity presented itself, Belfort delivered an incredible spinning heel kick that landed flush on Rockholds chin and sent him toppling to the floor. Air Max 95 Online Store . Long snapper Patrick Mannelly announced Friday that he is retiring after a 16-year-career with the Bears, a span in which he played in a team record 245 games and snapped the ball 2,282 times. Air Max 95 Cheap Sale .com) - The Utah Jazz look to put an end to their five-game losing streak when the Denver Nuggets visit Salt Lake City Monday night.NEW YORK, N.Y. - When it comes to baseballs MVP debate, sometimes the names change from year to year more than the arguments do. For instance, take a look at the top contenders in the National League this season. Youve got Pittsburgh centre fielder Andrew McCutchen, the all-around star on a playoff team. Then theres Miami powerhouse Giancarlo Stanton, the premier slugger from a second-division club. And of course, Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw, the dominant pitcher throwing his hat in the ring against everyday players. Its made for an intriguing race that feels awfully familiar. How to measure value in a player who fell short of the post-season? How much weight to give a starting pitcher who participates only once every five days? Its not the most valuable hitter award, its Most Valuable Player, which is everybody on the roster. But I think in order to win it as a pitcher, you have to have just an unbelievable year, Washington Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche said. Youre playing in a fifth as many games as the hitters. It should be a very rare thing. I dont think they should get in the habit of giving that out to pitchers. It should be an exception every once in a while, when you just have no choice and that guy is clearly the MVP. Kershaw has a strong case. Despite missing several starts with a back injury early this season, he went 21-3 in 27 outings for the NL West champions with 239 strikeouts and a 1.77 ERA a€” the lowest in the National League since 1995. He also became the first pitcher to lead the majors in ERA four straight seasons. The last pitcher to win the NL MVP award was Bob Gibson in 1968. Five years before that, it was another great Dodgers lefty, Sandy Koufax. Of course, Kershaw was brilliant last season, too, and finished seventh in the balloting. McCutchen easily beat out Arizona bopper Paul Goldschmidt after leading the Pirates to their first post-season appearance in 21 years. Many thought it might be a close election, but Goldschmidt failed to receive even one first-place vote despite pacing the NL in home runs, RBIs, slugging percentage and OPS for a .500 team. Over in the American League, the power hitting of Miguel Cabrera trumped Mike Trouts multi-skilled excellence the past two years as Cabrera won division titles with Detroit while Trout stayed home in October. And back in 2011, it was pitcher Justin Verlander of the AL Central champion Tigers topping Boston outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury and Toronto slugger Jose Bautista, who both missed the playoffs. In the NL, Ryan Braun reached the post-season with Milwaukee that year while runner-up Matt Kemp of the Dodgers did not. The common theme here is that making the playoffs pays off in the MVP chase. To many voters from the Baseball Writers Association of America, thats what defines the word valuable in Most Valuable Player. Thats a very important part, and rightfully so, Toronto pitcher R.A. Dickey said. That doesnt bode well for Stanton, because the Marlins (77-85) finished fourth in the NL East. In fairness, though, they were still on the fringe of the wild-card race when he was hit in the face by a pitch Sept. 11, forcing him to miss the remainder of the season. Miami went 6-11 the rest of the way. It was an unfortunate break, but he still ended up leading the league in homers (37) and slugging percentage (..dddddddddddd555) while finishing second in RBIs (105). McCutchen, meanwhile, had nearly identical stats in several major categories. His power numbers (25 homers, 83 RBIs) didnt match Stantons, but the four-time All-Star actually had a better season at the plate than last year, when he won his first MVP award. Despite spending 15 days on the disabled list in August with fractured rib cartilage, McCutchen led the NL in on-base percentage at .410 and OPS at .952, which was two points better than Stanton. Pittsburgh went 5-9 while he was sidelined, but took off in September on the way to a second straight wild-card berth as McCutchen posted an outstanding OPS of 1.048 during the final month. Throw in his speed on the bases a€” 18 steals in 21 attempts a€” and defence at a premium position, and McCutchen is the pick to repeat as MVP. But dont count out Kershaw when results are announced in November. ___ A look at the other big awards: AL MVP: Widely considered the best all-around player in baseball, Trout was runner-up to Cabrera the last two seasons. But this time, Trout and the Los Angeles Angels (98-64) boast the top record in the majors, making him a heavy favourite. Hes waited his turn, so to speak, and hes deserving, Dickey said. Hes been deserving the last couple of years, if it werent for the big guy over there in Detroit. Cabreras teammate on the playoff-bound Tigers, Victor Martinez, actually led the league in OPS at .974. Hes mainly a designated hitter, though. Trout had 36 homers and ranked first in RBIs (111) and runs (115). His strikeouts are way up and his stolen bases are way down a€” but no matter, Dickey said: He, to me, is just such a presence. NL Cy Young: Kershaw rolls to his third in four years. Tough luck for Johnny Cueto of the Reds and Adam Wainwright of the Cardinals, who both went 20-9 in Cy Young-caliber seasons. AL Cy Young: Its a toss-up between Seattle ace Felix Hernandez, the 2010 winner, and Cleveland right-hander Corey Kluber, who virtually came out of nowhere this season. You have to take into consideration the ballparks they pitch in, the division they pitch in. I know I would look at a lot of those things, Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. What kind of defence was played behind them? If you look at all those things, I think theres a clear-cut winner. Hmmm, still looks awfully close from here, Buck. Nip and tuck. Call it in the air ... Kluber. NL Rookie of the Year: Sort of slim pickings this season after a bumper crop in 2013. Make it New York Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom over Cincinnati speedster Billy Hamilton. AL Rookie of the Year: Cuban first baseman Jose Abreu of the Chicago White Sox is the clear choice from a deep class. NL Manager of the Year: Clint Hurdle of the Pirates could become the only back-to-back winner in either league besides Atlantas Bobby Cox (2004-05). AL Manager of the Year: Kudos to Ned Yost for guiding Kansas City out of a 29-year playoff drought, and Lloyd McClendon for leading the turnaround in Seattle. But the winner is Showalter, who managed the ace-less Orioles to a runaway AL East crown despite playing large chunks of the season without All-Stars Matt Wieters, Manny Machado and Chris Davis. Theres a nice symmetry here: Showalter won this award 10 years ago with Texas and 20 years ago with the New York Yankees. China NFL JerseysCheap Nike NFL JerseysNFL Jerseys CheapWholesale NFL JerseysCheap Basketball Jerseys OnlineStitched Hockey JerseysWholesale Baseball JerseysFootball Jerseys OutletCollege Jerseys For SaleCheap MLB JerseysWholesale Soccer JerseysWholesale Jerseys For SaleWholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '