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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. Donte Moncrief Jersey . Head of clinic Josef Obrist tells the Austria Press Agency on Thursday that Morgenstern "is doing surprisingly well. ... 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Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 points, Shawn Marion had 22 and the Mavericks beat undermanned Philadelphia 124-112 Friday night, handing the 76ers their 10th straight loss.TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays started last season with an April swoon that they never really recovered from. Buoyed by a four-game winning streak and a return to the .500 mark entering play Thursday night, manager John Gibbons said the feeling around the team is much better now than this time last year. "No doubt. I think last year was a little bit of a shock to everybody," Gibbons said during a pre-game availability. "But I think they always had a good attitude. But everybody was kind of like they got hit by a two-by-four ... I definitely feel something different this year. "Theyre feeling good." Expectations were sky-high for last years squad after an off-season makeover brought in big names like R.A. Dickey, Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera and Mark Buehrle. However, the team lost 21 of its first 31 games and struggled to a last-place finish in the American League East. General manager Alex Anthopoulos kept the changes to a minimum in the last off-season. There are early signs that might have been a prudent approach. The Blue Jays had a few hiccups in recent weeks -- including a couple meltdowns from their usually strong bullpen -- but appear to be back in form as they continued a nine-game homestand Thursday night against the Philadelphia Phillies. Torontos starting rotation has been anchored by the steady play of Buehrle, who is off to a 6-1 start with a sparkling 1.91 earned-run average. The Blue Jays starters have been going deeper into games and easing the pressure on the bullpen, which looked good early on but has had some inconsistent patches. Closer Casey Janssen could return from his rehab assignment in the coming days and that would also give the relief crew a boost. Injuries were a problem last year.dddddddddddd The absence of Reyes for most of the first half of the season had a ripple effect through the order and his defensive skills were missed. His troublesome hamstring was an issue last month but his game appears to be coming around. A big difference early on this year is the meat of the lineup looks comfortable and is getting results. Entering play Thursday, Melky Cabrera (.329, 6 HR, 14 RBIs) leads the American League with 48 hits, Jose Bautista (.300, 9 HR, 21 RBIs) has reached base in all 34 games and leads the American League with a 1.041 OPS (on-base plus slugging) while Edwin Encarnacion (.242, 4 HR, 21 RBIs) has been a threat in the cleanup spot. There have also been some nice bonuses. Backup catcher Josh Thole is hitting .400, Juan Francisco filled in admirably when Adam Lind went down with a back problem and regular catcher Dioner Navarro has a .300 average. Lind was activated Thursday and served as the designated hitter against the Phillies. He was hitting .324 at the time of his injury. The Blue Jays have also been hitting for power -- they lead the American League with 44 home runs and a team slugging percentage of .432 entering play against Philadelphia. No one is strutting around the dugout after splitting the first 34 games of the season. But its a marked improvement from the 13-23 record and woeful .361 winning percentage the Blue Jays had on this date last year. Perhaps the positive feelings are boosted by the fact the other American League East clubs are in a similar boat with only 3 1/2 games separating first from worst. The Blue Jays will play four games against the Los Angeles Angels before closing out the homestand with a three-game set against the Cleveland Indians. 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