SALT LAKE CITY -- Before he even got the ball on the first play of the game, Dirk Nowitzki decided he was going to shoot. Authentic Nate Thompson Jersey . 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. Authentic Jonathan Quick Jersey . -- Once again, Carlos Santana was a huge hit in Kansas City. Authentic Drew Doughty Jersey . Nowitzki scored 28 points, Harris had a season-high 14 for the second straight game and the Dallas Mavericks beat the Detroit Pistons 116-106 Sunday night. http://www.cheapnhlkingsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-tyler-toffoli-jersey . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted that its believed the Flames are working towards a new contract with the defenceman.TORONTO -- If the Toronto Raptors have a preferable post-season opponent, theyre not saying. The Raptors wrap up their record-breaking regular season Wednesday night at New York, and wont know until post-game wholl theyll face in the playoffs. And they insist they dont care. "Were just worried about ourselves," Amir Johnson said after Mondays victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. "We just want to clean up on our mistakes. Whoevers in front of us, were going to play the same way weve been playing all season." The Raptors, who set a franchise record with their 48th win of the season Monday night, will face either the Brooklyn Nets, Washington Wizards or Charlotte Bobcats when the opening round begins this weekend. The Raptors are tied with the Chicago Bulls for third in the Eastern Conference, but control their own destiny. Theyll clinch the No. 3 seed if they either beat the Knicks on Wednesday, or the Bulls lose at Charlotte. Theyll finish fourth if they lose and Chicago wins. "We havent thought about it or talked about it," guard Kyle Lowry said, about the ramifications of Wednesdays schedule. "Were just going to go out there and play our game." Raptors coach Dwane Casey has been resting his starters -- all-star DeMar DeRozan got the night off Monday. Casey said he would consider resting DeRozan again Wednesday, despite what outcome that might have on the game, and their conference seeding. "Im more worried about us moreso than who we play. Its about us. About our health,, rest, whatever we decide to do in that situation. Authentic Rogie Vachon Jersey. If we play Brooklyn, we play Brooklyn, if we play Washington, we play Washington, theres no easy teams left in the playoffs right now, all the teams are very capable," Casey said. "Brooklyn is probably more playoff-ready, but we cant control that and were not going into this game trying to control that. Im more worried about our guys health -- rest if we rest them -- and our rhythm. And its a fine line between the two." While the players might not have a stated preference, fans certainly do, and general consensus is Washington. The Raptors won the season series against the Wizards three games to one. The Raptors lost all three of their games to Charlotte this season, although only by a combined nine points. They split their four games with Brooklyn, but the Nets have that invaluable playoff experience. Five Nets players alone -- Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Deron Williams, Andrei Kirilenko and Joe Johnson -- have 432 playoff appearances combined. The Toronto Raptors: 147. Raptors starters DeRozan, Jonas Valanciunas and Terrence Ross: Zero. The Raptors are making their first playoff appearance since 2007-08. They were beaten in five games by the Orlando Magic. This is the sixth time in the teams 19-year history theyve made the playoffs. Their only series win was in 2000-01 when they beat the New York Knicks three games to two, before losing to the Philadelphia 76ers in seven games in the second round. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '