Inland Waterways » a 107-90 Dallas win. The

DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki looked like a 35-year-old veteran playing his fourth game in five nights in the first half against New Orleans -- and so did everyone else. The Dallas star played like an MVP in his prime after halftime, when the game improved substantially for both teams. Nowitzki scored a season-high 40 points, and the Dallas Mavericks recovered from a brutal first quarter and held to beat New Orleans 110-107 on Saturday night for their second win in as many days against the Pelicans. The teams combined for more points in the third quarter than the entire first half. Nowitzki was the perfect illustration of the difference, getting 20 points in the third and hitting seven straight shots after starting just 2 of 9 from the field. "It was an ugly game in the first half," Nowitzki said. "Then all of a sudden the basket started opening up and everybodys confidence went up." Monta Ellis broke a 99-all tie with two free throws, and Nowitzki hit three more after getting fouled on a 3-pointer by Jason Smith. Nowitzki was 15 of 16 from the line and Ellis, who scored 26 points, made 12 of 15. Dallas was 39 of 45 as a team. Anthony Davis had 28 points and 14 rebounds for the Pelicans, who lost their fifth straight and dropped six games below .500, both season highs. The Mavericks, who won three of four games in a five-night stretch, almost blew a seven-point lead in the last 2 minutes after shooting 27 per cent in the first half, when Dallas led 42-37 before outscoring New Orleans 42-40 in the third. Davis made five of six free throws to get New Orleans within two at 106-104 with 18 seconds left. Dallas had to call timeout after having trouble inbounding the ball, and Nowitzki hit two foul shots for a four-point lead and his first 40-point game since April 16, 2012, at Utah. He also had 40 in that one. "Oh man, unbelievable," Ellis said of Nowitzki. "Ive seen that a lot throughout my career. For him to come out and give us that lift tonight really opened up a lot for us as a team." Darius Miller hit his fourth 3-pointer of the second half to get New Orleans within a point, and Jose Calderon hit two free throws for Dallas for the last of his 17 points with 9 seconds left. Austin Rivers tried to get off a 3-pointer at the buzzer but was tied up by Ellis. Rivers pleaded for a foul call as the referees were leaving the court, and coach Monty Williams said video showed Ellis had his arm across both of Rivers arms. "Thats embarrassing," said Williams, whose team also was playing for the fourth time in five nights. "Thats not right. A no-call in a game like that when Dirk gets the same call in the first half and they shot 45 free throws? Certainly, were not going to blame the game on the referees." Eric Gordon had 20 points for New Orleans before fouling out on a driving layup by Ellis that put Dallas up 106-99. Al-Farouq Aminu had 15 points and 11 rebounds. The Pelicans were playing their second straight game without leading scorer Ryan Anderson and assist leader Jrue Holiday. Anderson missed his fifth game with a herniated disc and is out indefinitely. Holiday has a stress fracture in his right shin. The Mavericks were without starter Shawn Marion for the fourth straight game with shoulder and rib injuries. Miller hit back-to-back 3-pointers and Davis had an alley-oop dunk and a jumper during a 10-2 run that put New Orleans up 95-92. In the first half, both teams appeared to be feeling the effects of their previous game a night earlier and 500 miles away in New Orleans -- a 107-90 Dallas win. The Mavericks were 2 of 19 from the field early in the second quarter when Nowitzki got fouled while making a 3-pointer and converted the four-point play. While that sparked a run to Dallas first lead, it didnt improve the shooting much. Dallas finished the first half 9 of 33 on field goals, and New Orleans was just 12 for 37 from the field in the first half. The ugly start also included multiple air balls and an air-mailed pass by Gordon -- about 10 feet over everybodys head into the third row behind the Dallas bench. It was one of six turnovers in the first half and eight overall for Gordon. NOTES: Mavericks rookie PG Shane Larkin sprained his right ankle in the third quarter and didnt return. ... The Mavericks didnt get their first field goal until Calderon hit a 3-pointer with 6:55 left in the first quarter. ... Nowitzki had the fourth 20-point quarter of his career. His highest was franchise-record 29 against Utah in the fourth quarter on Nov. 3, 2009. Custom Tennessee Titans Jerseys . Hollis-Jefferson went 5-for-6 from the field and added six rebounds, while Stanley Jefferson contributed 14 points for the Wildcats, who used their trademark tough defense to dominate the games final 24 minutes and advance to Tuesdays winners bracket matchup with Kansas State. Dion Lewis Jersey . And former Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson certainly knows his pain. "Its pretty hard to coach there without allowing some of these things to kind of affect you," Wilson told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in his ESPN. http://www.titansauthenticofficialonline.com/authentic-will-compton-jersey.html . He was set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 5th. The 34-year-old Laval, Que. native has played six seasons with the Penguins. Blaine Gabbert Jersey . The 26-year-old Sobotka injured his left leg playing for the St. Louis Blues in a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. The Blues said he would not recover from the injury in time for the Olympic tournament. Dion Lewis Titans Jersey . JOHNS, N.With the Labour Day Classics now in the books, the CFL schedule makes its midseason turn to the fall. The games get all the more important now leading up to the postseason, but theres just time enough to look back at the first half and award the midseason Most Outstanding Player. It comes down to a three-horse race with two of those horses wearing the green of the first place Saskatchewan Roughriders, but ultimately Toronto Argonauts QB Ricky Ray deserves the most MOP consideration for his outstanding first half. Ray and Roughriders QB Darian Durant have had similarly spectacular starts to the season but what gives Ray the edge is he isnt working with a potential record breaking running back in Kory Sheets (the other candidate for the midseason MOP), taking pressure off the pass game. Ray has missed some time so far this season (and is expected to miss a lot more in the second half) but when hes on the field hes nearly automatic. His 78 percent completion rate is 10 points higher than any other QB in the league and his 15 touchdowns to zero interceptions is almost unheard of. The 33-year-old continues to deliver even with teams keying on the Double Blues passing game. Ray has been without his top RB Chad Kackert for most of the season and Torontos ground game has produced just 718 yaards combined on the season, just more than 60 percent of Sheets total alone.dddddddddddd Durants stat line (21 touchdowns to one interception) is just as breathtaking as Rays; what Sheets has done in the first half is historic (and we all know how much the league loves record breakers); and the Riders league leading 8-1 record all made the decision anything but easy, but Ray and the Argos passing game has led the team to an East leading 5-4 record with little to no help on the ground. You could argue Durant and Sheets are splitting votes at the time. Durant and Sheets will have plenty of time to catch up by seasons end, and with Ray out for up to the next five weeks now the award is all but guaranteed to go to someone else when the votes count, but for now Rays incredible renaissance in the Big Smoke continues. Fringe candidates to keep an eye on in the second half of the season include last years winner Chad Owens and last years runner-up Jon Cornish, and the leagues passing leader Henry Burris. And if the award could be shared among teammates, the Calgary Stampeders trio at quarterback would deserve consideration as well. The Rouge asks: Who is your midseason Most Outstanding Player? Youve heard what weve had to say, now its your turn. As always, its Your! Call. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '