DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki doesnt want the Dallas Mavericks feeling too comfortable during a franchise-record eight-game homestand. Wholesale Vans Shoes . The Boston Celtics never let them rest easy in the opener. Nowitzki led another balanced scoring effort with 19 points, and the Mavericks held off several Boston runs in a 94-89 victory against the Celtics on Monday night. The Celtics wiped out most of two double-digit deficits in the second half and were within one in the final minute but couldnt avoid an 0-15 finish on the road against the Western Conference. "They just kept coming back at us," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "Theyve got some young, aggressive guys that are hungry and they were hitting shots." The Mavericks followed their first win in more than two years over possible first-round playoff foe Oklahoma City by taking their third straight to get a season-high 14 games over .500. Dallas didnt have a 20-point scorer for the third time in four games, the exception being Nowitzkis 31-point night in a win at Utah. Monta Ellis had 17 points, and Devin Harris added 12. Jerryd Bayless had 19 points, including 12 in the fourth quarter, and Kris Humphries matched a season high with 14 rebounds for the Celtics, who lost their fifth straight game and 12th in the past 15. It was the second time in as many nights the Celtics made it interesting after trailing by 10 with 6 minutes to go. The first was an overtime loss at New Orleans, and this one was without Rajon Rondo, who sat on the second night of a back-to-back for the sixth time. He is skipping such games as he works his way back from right knee surgery. "Playing without Rondo, I thought Jerryd played fantastic, especially in that fourth quarter," Boston coach Brad Stevens said. "He gave us a chance to win." The Mavericks went up 90-85 when Brandan Wright had the last of his 10 points on a putback after three other misses, but the Celtics did the same thing at the other end, capped by a bucket from Kelly Olynyk, who had 16 points and nine rebounds. Avery Bradley stole the ball from Ellis and went in for a dunk to make it 90-89 with 21 seconds left, but Ellis hit two free throws and Bayless missed a driving shot, got the ball back and had a second attempt blocked by Vince Carter. "I think we were fighting and battling well," Bayless said. "I think everyone played well, but we werent able to pull it off tonight." Ellis, playing through an illness for the second straight night, had seven points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer for an 85-80 lead with 2:16 remaining. He took three charges and stayed down for a minute or so after a hard one in the second half. "It feels good with a win, but Ive been having trouble breathing," said Ellis, who matched Sam Dalembert for the team lead in rebounds with seven and had four assists to go with five turnovers. "I really try to block it out and do whatever I need to do." Boston had four chances to get closer down 64-61 to start the fourth but missed three shots and had a turnover before Harris made a couple of free throws and Wright dunked off a feed from Carter to push the lead back to seven. The lead was back down to four when Harris and Wright hooked for their second alley-oop dunk and Harris poked the ball away from Phil Pressey, dove for the loose ball to grab it from Olynyk and threw a pass from the floor to Nowitzki running ahead of everyone for another dunk and a 74-66 lead. "I almost tore both of my flexors trying to chase that ball, but Im glad I got to it," said Nowitzki, who was 6 of 17 from the field. "That was a big play from Devin." The Celtics looked like they would go down without much of a fight early, falling behind 33-24 in the second quarter when Brandan Wright had an alley-oop dunk from Devin Harris in a combination thats getting more common. But Boston had the first of several big runs at 13-0 with baskets from five different players. Pressey hit one of his two first-half 3-pointers, Chris Johnson scored from long range and Bradley hit a layup. After stealing a pass for a dunk, Olynyk assisted on a three-point play by Jared Sullinger, who led all scorers with 11 in the first half and finished with 13. NOTES: Celtics F Jeff Green had five points on 2-of-12 shooting a night after matching his season high with 39 in the loss at New Orleans. ... Wright was 5 of 5 from the field and is shooting 71 per cent this month. ... Green and Sullinger matched Olynyk with nine rebounds as Boston outrebounded Dallas 57-36. The Celtics had a 21-6 edge in offensive rebounds. Old Skool Australia Cheap . -- Aaron Rodgers looked fine on the practice field Thursday. Vans Old Skool Sale . TSNs coverage of the Third Round gets underway Sunday with Game 1: Los Angeles at Chicago at 3pm et/Noon pt. TSNs broadcast schedule for the Third Round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs is as follows: Chicago Blackhawks vs. Los Angeles Kings• Game 1: Los Angeles at Chicago – Sunday, May 18 at 3pm et/Noon pt• Game 2: Los Angeles at Chicago – Wednesday, May 21 at 8pm et/5pm pt• Game 4: Chicago at Los Angeles – Monday, May 26 at 9pm et/6pm pt Featured in the broadcast booth for TSN are play-by-play announcer Chris Cuthbert and game analyst Ray Ferraro, with Farhan Lalji contributing reports from rinkside. http://www.cheapoldskoolaustralia.com/ . Langer appeared to be in trouble when his second shot on the par-5 18th ended up in the rough short of the green. He hit a brilliant pitch to 5 feet and made the putt after Slumans birdie attempt rolled just wide.The Boston Bruins finish the 2013-2014 regular season on top of the TSN.ca NHL Power Rankings, ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks. Even though they were playing in the weaker Eastern Conference, the Bruins finished on top of the league standings, with the leagues best goal differential and had four regulation losses in 28 games against the Western Conference, so they earned their way to the No. 1 ranking. Making late-season moves in the rankings, the Dallas Stars climbed from 13 to 10, their second-best ranking of the year (ranked ninth once in late November). The New Jersey Devils finished as the highest-ranked non-playoff team, thanks to relatively strong stats that were undone (in the standings) by an abysmal 0-13 record in the shootout, but they were up from 19 to 15 in the seasons final rankings. Heading the other way, the St. Louis Blues, who have been a Top Three team since October, have fallen to a season-low ranking of five, after losing six straight to end the season. Five could be generous if first-liners David Backes and T.J. Oshie arent ready to start the postsasson after suffering late-season injuries. Cheap Old Skool Australia Free Shipping. The Tampa Bay Lightning slide from 12 to 17, and its due to the arm injury suffered by goaltender Ben Bishop. Bishop has been such a big part of the Lightnings success this year, and the drop to backup Anders Lindback is so large, that Tampa Bay lost ground despite finishing the year with four straight wins. The Phoenix Coyotes were close to a playoff berth, but were winless in seven down the stretch, before a season-ending win against Dallas in a meaningless game, so the Desert Dogs drop from 15 to 19. It was a rough year for Canadian teams. The Montreal Canadiens finished as the highest-ranked club, at 11, 10 spots ahead of the Calgary Flames, who finished competitively over the final 40% of the season. The Winnipeg Jets, Vancouver Canucks, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs are, in order, from 23 to 26, while the Edmonton Oilers end the year at 28. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '