making noise in the playoffs after a long-awaited re

PHOENIX -- The son of a baseball Hall of Famer had the biggest game of his young pro basketball career, and the Dallas Mavericks probably wouldnt have won without him. Rookie Shane Larkin, son of Cincinnati Reds great Barry Larkin, scored a career-high 18 points, half of them in the final quarter, and the Mavericks held on to beat the Phoenix Suns 110-107 on Friday night. Larkin, the 18th overall draft pick out of Miami, scored six in the last 2:42, capped by a pair of free throws with 11.1 seconds left. "Sometimes you think as a rookie that you dont want to mess up," he said. "You want to play smart, you dont want to do anything that the coach is uncomfortable (with). Tonight it was, Just go play. We need you to play and we need you to play well and do the things that you can do." Larkin was forced into extra duty when starting guard Jose Calderon hurt his knee in the first half. "Its the most minutes Ive played since college," he said. Larkin made 6 of 8 shots, including two of three 3-pointers and had five assists in 26 1/2 minutes. "Thats why we drafted him," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "We felt like he could have this kind of impact." The Suns had a last chance to tie it when Vince Carter turned it over trying to inbound the ball after a basket by Phoenix with 6.7 seconds left. But P.J. Tuckers try from the corner rimmed out, and replays showed his foot was on the line so it would have been for two points, anyway. Monta Ellis scored 24 and Dirk Nowitzki 21 for the Mavericks, who never trailed. Shawn Marion scored eight of his 16 in the third quarter for Dallas. Goran Dragic scored 28 points, and Markieff Morris added 23, including 14 in the final quarter, and grabbed 12 rebounds. Morris twin brother Marcus scored 13 for the Suns, who have lost four of five. "We need to attack the basket more and we are in kind of a shooting slump right now," coach Jeff Hornacek said. "If you get those easy ones and now, all of a sudden, you go outside and you get a few." Dallas led 104-94 after Larkins running 5-footer with 2:53 to go. Markieff Morris four-point play with 2:30 to go cut it to 103-98, but Nowitzki sank a 20-footer and it was 106-98 with 1:47 to go. Larkins two free throws put Dallas ahead 108-101 with 1:19 left, then Dragic led the Suns on a frenzied run. His driving layup, followed by his 5-footer cut the lead to 108-105 with 14.1 seconds to play. Larkins two free throws boosted it to 110-105 with 11.1 seconds to go. Dragic scored again inside to trim it to 110-107 with 6.7 seconds remaining, then Carter lost the ball and touched it again while he was trying to inbound it for a turnover giving the Suns one last chance. Dragic found Tucker for the open jumper, but it rolled around the rim and came out. "I was already celebrating," Tucker said, "because it did everything but go down." Television replays showed Tuckers foot was on 3-point line so it would not have tied the game anyway. Dallas shot out to a 23-12 lead on Nowitzkis 3-pointer and was up 44-34 after Larkins 3-pointer with 8:22 left in the half. Phoenix scored the next eight, cutting it to 44-42 on Markieff Morris length-of-the-court pass to Tucker for a layup. The Suns cut the lead to one three times in quarter, the last at 51-50 on Gerald Greens 3-pointer with 4:03 left in the half. Dallas led 58-56 at the break. The Suns briefly tied it on Dragics jumper to start the second half, then Dallas took off again. Marion and Carter each sank a 3 in a 9-2 run that gave the Mavericks their biggest lead, 84-72 with 2:28 left in the third quarter. Notes: The Suns were without Leandro Barbosa for the second game in a row because of a sore right shoulder. He is at the end of a 10-day contract and is expected to get another over the weekend. ... The Mavericks return home to face Portland on Saturday night. ... Dallas 36 points were the most Phoenix has allowed in the first quarter this season. ... Dallas has won 12 of 15 over the Suns. Dion Lewis Titans Jersey . - Connor Brown and Dane Fox both scored in regulation and in the shootout, as the Erie Otters extended their win streak to 10 games by defeating the London Knights 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Will Compton Titans Jersey . - The Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year contract with free-agent centre Brian de la Puente. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-88-Luke-Stocker-Womens-Jersey/ . The future hall of famers stole the show at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, with Jagr moving into seventh place in all-time goal scoring and Brodeur stopping 29 shots as the Devils downed the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. Will Compton Jersey . Nwaneri, who was born in Dallas and attended Naaman Forest High School in nearby Garland, Texas, tweeted, "Its official! Im coming home, Im coming home. Harold Landry Titans Jersey . Pospisil, whose season-ending goal is to improve his ATP Tour ranking enough to qualify for one of the 32 seedings at Januarys Australian Open, dominated Karlovic in 59 minutes. The world No. 40 never faced a break point and limited the big mans threatening ace count to a mere eight, while striking five key aces of his own.MONTREAL – The question was posed to Jonathan Bernier, perhaps the busiest netminder in the National Hockey League this season and a man who has witnessed the strength of terrific defensive hockey in Los Angeles firsthand en route to a Cup in 2012: Can his Toronto Maple Leafs, currently the top wild card in the East, threaten a deep playoff run without raising their substandard level of defensive play? "Goalies got to be good," Bernier said with an almost uncomfortable laugh. "I personally dont think so," he continued frankly. "Because some games [the goalie] wont get those bounces and [the puck is] going to go in somehow. But we know weve got it in this room. Weve just got to pay the price to play better defensively and, if we do, Im pretty sure we can be one of the top teams in this league." Its an uncomfortable truth for a team that wrung up 11 wins in 14 games before the Olympic break and has designs on making noise in the playoffs after a long-awaited return last spring. This is a hockey club that struggles badly to defend and relies most nights on terrific goaltending and an incredibly potent offence to win. Its a formula that might yield success in the regular season, and it has for the Leafs thus far, but is unlikely to gain much steam when the hockey tightens in mid-April. Head coach Randy Carlyle has been beating the drum loudly on the topic all season, but doesnt have much to show for it. His group remains a work in progress. "Weve been trying and stressing that defensive hockey is whats going to give your team the best chance to qualify for the playoffs," said Carlyle after an instructive practice in Brossard, Quebec. "[But] were in the qualification mode. Were not in the playoff mode [yet]." Only five teams have been worse than the Leafs defensively this season and only one of those teams, the Ottawa Senators, has any hope of qualifying for the playoffs. Toronto has allowed a bloated three goals per game despite boasting some of the finest goaltending in the league with the 25-year-old Bernier. No team, in fact, puts more pressure on their goaltender to be great than do the Leafs. Only Mike Smith in Phoenix has faced more shots than Bernier thus far and hes started 10 more games than the native of Laval. "I think weve seen it," said Bernier of sturdy defensive play. "I think everyones seen it, but I dont think weve seen it consistently enough." Hurting the effort is a bad penalty kill, one thats allowed the most goals (tied) in the league this season, an unstable defence which includes young and growing parts like Morgan Rielly and Jake Gardiner and a high-end forward group that has shown only spotty attention to defence. A pile of goals and timely goaltending have been required most nights to win. That was true during an 11-2-1 run before the 18-day Olympic stoppage. Running, then, behind the all-world efforts of Phil Kessel, who has been the hottest player on the planet in 2014, the club scored 51 goals – 3.64 per game – but also allowed 41 on the other end. Theyve won despite being outshot in 36 of 48 games – they have a record of 21-10-5 in those games – and despite the ffact that theyve allowed a league-high of more than 36 shots per game.dddddddddddd Cody Franson, second on the back-end in minutes, believes the instability is tied to confusion in the defensive end, too much thinking rather quick instinctual reaction. "I think were still a little indecisive on things sometimes," he said. "We try and play a quite aggressive style of defence and sometimes when you think too much you end up being a half second slow compared to where you should be. That comfort level just isnt quite there with us yet. I think we still think about things too much." They allowed five in their most recent affair against the Islanders on Thursday night, an overtime loss to a struggling club that was without its best player and leading scorer, John Tavares, and their third leading point-getter in Frans Nielsen. Two of the goals came by way of short circuiting on the power-play with Michael Grabner scoring twice shorthanded in a span of 48 seconds on the same power-play. Another found the back of the net via the aforementioned penalty kill with two more coming on defensive breakdowns, including the overtime winner. "Gifts," said Carlyle after the 5-4 defeat. "Ive got no other word to describe the goals that we gave up." A drastic reversal at this late stage in the year seems unlikely, though Carlyle and the coaching staff continue to push and prod. They did so with any available ice during the Olympic break and continued at practice Friday, narrowing their sights on a tighter neutral zone and improved forecheck – efforts aimed at spending less time in the defensive zone. But with just 21 games to play, including a division clash with the Canadiens on Saturday, its probably safe to say that this is what these Maple Leafs are. The question now is whether they can, as currently constructed, make a little noise in the postseason (assuming they get in) or whether their defensive liabilities will prove too onerous to overcome. Last spring, they nearly toppled a Bruins giant, but required some lightning in a bottle and forgotten brilliance from James Reimer in Games 5 and 6. History points emphatically in the direction of those that can defend. In fact, the last three Stanley Cup winners finished the regular season as either the best or second-best team defensively. And though the Leafs are not yet in the Cup conversation, that remains the goal somewhere down the road. Dave Nonis and the Toronto management team have to be mindful of that fact as it relates to the larger construction of the roster, both now with the Mar. 5 trade deadline looming and over the longer term with the core thats being put into place. Are these the foundations of a club that can eventually win the ultimate prize? "You always see it every year, strong defensive teams win," said Jay McClement. "I think we have the make-up for it. But not without being strong defensively. Obviously, youre not going to win a lot of games 5-4 in the playoffs. We have the goaltending for it and have had it all year. Weve just got to cut down on these mistakes and well be fine. "Were not changing the way we do it, weve just got to do it better." Blackhawks Jerseys Store Cheap Wild Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Penguins Jerseys Store Capitals Jerseys For Sale Blues Jerseys Store Cheap Kings Jerseys Adidas Lightning Jerseys Stars Jerseys For Sale Cheap Predators Jerseys Ducks Store Sharks Jerseys For Sale Cheap Sabres Jerseys Rangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '