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SALT LAKE CITY -- Before he even got the ball on the first play of the game, Dirk Nowitzki decided he was going to shoot. When that went in, he just kept on shooting. "I didnt even wait to see if theyd double team. I was going to get a shot up regardless. That got things jumpstarted," Nowitzki said. Nowitzki scored 31 points and moved into sole possession of the No. 12 spot on the all-time NBA scoring list in the Dallas Mavericks 108-101 win over the Utah Jazz Wednesday. He made 12 of 14 from the field and all four of his 3-point attempts to help the Mavs snap a three-game road losing skid. "I was determined to set a more aggressive tone tonight," he said. "The way weve been playing offensively, something needed to change." Trey Burke scored 20 points and Enes Kanter had 18 points and 11 rebounds, but the Jazz struggled down the stretch against Dallas long-range shooting. The Mavericks converted 13 of 21 3-point attempts -- their best percentage of the season topping the last time they played Utah with a 10-of-18 performance on Feb. 7. Meanwhile, the Jazz went 5 of 26. On the first possession of the game, Nowitzki drained his trademark one-legged fade-away jumper, which moved him past John Havlicek for 12th place on the NBAs all-time scoring list. "He really led our team tonight," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "Dirk was great from start to finish. I mean, shooting 12-of-14 is ridiculous and 4-for-4 from 3, its hard to do much better than that." Havlicek scored 26,395 points and Dominique Wilkins is No. 11 in the record books with 26,668. With more games like this one, Nowitzki could possibly reach the top 10 this season by passing Oscar Robertson (26,710). "I havent been quite on fire lately, but I got out early and was really looking to get my groove," he said. Monta Ellis, on the other hand, started slow but finished strong -- scoring 13 of his 16 points in the second half and tallying 11 assists and seven rebounds for Dallas. "After a frustrating first half, Monta stayed patient, disciplined and aggressive. He took what the defence gave him and got the jumper going. Then he made a bunch of plays," Carlisle said. Nowitzki agreed and gave plenty of praise to Ellis. "Monta was spectacular in the fourth. I dont always need to grind and go to the post and try and make some stuff happen. He knows how to nick his guy and a bit and next thing you know hes at the rim," he said. Devin Harris, who was a game-time decision with a strained Achilles, scored 12 and kept Dallas in the eighth Western Conference playoff slot. Derrick Favours scored 15 points and Alec Burks had 13 points and a career-high eight assists, but the Jazz have lost seven of their past eight games in this rebuilding season. Neither team led by more than seven points until Ellis and Jose Calderon made back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead to 101-93 with 3:04 to play. Burke made a 3-pointer for the Jazz, but then Ellis made a jumper and then assisted Nowitzki for another shot beyond the arc to put the game out of reach. Nowitzki said he appreciates how easy Ellis can make it for him. "He is just so explosive off the pick-and-roll. Hes fun to play with ... and he just exploits any mistake the defenders make in their coverage," Nowitzki said. The back-and-forth game featured 17 ties and 18 lead changes before the Mavericks made all the key shots down the stretch. "Dirk, in my opinion, was spectacular. I tried a lot of different coverages on him and he still made tough shots. Thats what great players do in this league," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. Burke had his second consecutive 20-point game after struggling with his shot most of his rookie season. But he marveled at what Nowtizki has been doing for more than 15 years. "We tried to contain Dirk but you just have to take your hat off to him, when a guy has a night like that," Burke said. Notes: Dallas forward Jae Crowder sat out his second game with a strained abdominal muscle suffered Sunday against Indiana. . Dallas coach Rick Carlisle got a technical for complaining about Burke kicking out his feet on his jump shots. . The Jazz outscored the Mavericks 56-32 in the paint. Bruce Matthews Jersey .Under the agreement announced Monday, the Cuban defector is guaranteed $68.5 million over six seasons.Tomas gets a $14 million signing bonus that is payable within 30 days of the deals approval by Major League Baseball, and then salaries of $2 million next year, $4 million in 2016, $6 million in 2017 and $10 million in 2018. Jurrell Casey Youth Jersey . "You hate when they score," he said with some distaste at the thought. "You take pride in it. http://www.titansstoreonline.com/Black-9...rsey/.Steamboat Ski Resort contends Steamboat Springs, Colorado has long been known as Ski Town, U.S.A., and claims in a new lawsuit that Salt Lake tourism officials violated their trademark when they rolled out the Ski City marketing campaign last month. Nate Davis Womens Jersey . -- The Grand Rapids Griffins scored three goals in 33 seconds of the second period en route to defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-1 in American Hockey League action on Friday. Bruce Matthews Titans Jersey . Tensions rose in the first period when Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik hit Bruins forward Loui Eriksson with what appeared to be a clean hit.MINNEAPOLIS -- Phil Hughes didnt come to Minnesota to be a saviour. He just wanted to throw strikes and help his new team win some games. On Sunday, he gave the Twins more proof they made a wise investment. Hughes won his third start in a row, Trevor Plouffe and Kurt Suzuki hit two-run doubles and the Twins beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2. "It starts with the starting pitcher and he gave us a great opportunity against a very potent lineup," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire, who was especially pleased with Hughes control. "You put guys on base, you miss a play and youll wind up killing yourself against those guys." Brought in as a free agent to help cure some of the Twins starting pitching woes, Hughes (3-1) again pitched like the ace the team hoped hed be. Hughes gave up two runs and six hits in 6 1-3 innings, walking none and striking out three. He became the first Twins pitcher to win three consecutive starts since Sam Deduno won three straight in July 2013. "I said in the off-season when they signed him I thought he was a really good sign," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "He gives you a lot of confidence. (He can) go up and go away and let those guys who can really run the ball down run it down. He was effective. Hes added the cutter and a lot more." Hughes, who left the Yankees in the off-season to join the Twins, gave up four earned runs in each of his first three starts this season. He has given up a total of six earned runs and just one walk in 19 1-3 innings over his last three outings. The focus was on control the weekend after Twins pitchers issued 22 walks -- including 12 by their starters -- as the Dodgers swept three games at Target Field earlier in the week. Against the Orioles, the Twins walked just two batters in three games and took two of three in the series. "I always take pride in throwing strikes, making guys earn their way on base and not giving any free passes," Hughes said. "If were going to make mistakes in the zone and were going to get beat on aggressive pitches, so be it.dddddddddddd But we dont want to let them on for free." After giving up a single to Nick Markakis to start the game, Hughes retired the next 14 batters. Nelson Cruz broke up Hughes shutout bid with two outs in the sixth, hitting a two-run shot for his ninth homer of the season. Glen Perkins pitched a scoreless ninth for his seventh save in eight chances this year. The Twins played most of the day without first baseman Joe Mauer, who left in the top of the third inning with lower-back spasms. Gardenhire said that Mauer underwent treatment throughout the game and said he thinks he could play on Monday. The Twins scored twice in the third, helped by the hustle of the Twins most slump-ridden hitter. Eduardo Escobar led off with a single off Miguel Gonzalez (1-3) and Pedro Florimon, who entered the game hitting .121, followed with a routine ground ball to second base. Running hard down the line, Florimon barely beat shortstop J.J. Hardys double-play relay to first base. Brian Dozier then singled and one out later, Plouffe lined a double into the left-field corner that scored both runners. Gonzalez walked the bases full with two outs, then walked Kurt Suzuki to force home a run. Reliever Troy Patton bailed him out of the jam by retiring Sam Fuld. The Twins tacked on two insurance runs in the seventh against reliever Ryan Webb. Chris Colabello hit a one-out double, Jason Kubel walked and Suzuki hit a double to left that scored both runners. Kubel slid home just ahead of catcher Matt Wieters tag, a call that was confirmed via an instant-replay challenge. NOTES: Plouffe leads the majors with 14 doubles. ... Minnesota wrapped up an eight-game homestand with a 3-5 record. RHP Kyle Gibson (3-2, 4.34) is scheduled to start on Monday when the Twins begin a four-game series at Cleveland. ' ' '