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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. cheap nfl jerseys . 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. nfl jerseys china . Now its going to cost him -- four games and four paychecks. The Colts career sacks leader was suspended Friday by the NFL after violating the leagues ban on performance-enhancing substances. cheap jerseys . -- It wouldnt bother Zack Greinke if he didnt have to travel for the Los Angeles Dodgers opener against Arizona in Australia.ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Even as two early power-play goals helped establish a 3-0 lead Toronto Marlies coach Steve Spott said he still felt uneasy Friday. He didnt need to worry. The Marlies never trailed on the way to a 5-2 American Hockey League playoff victory over the Chicago Wolves in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal. "Its a little bit scary. Youre up 3-0 and two of those goals came pretty early," Spott said. "It definitely didnt feel like a 3-0 game. We knew they were going to come at us, they did." The Marlies used two power-play goals to grab an the early advantage while goaltender Drew MacIntyre turned back 37 shots. "It was a 60-minute effort," Spott said. "All four lines played very hard tonight." Centre Trevor Smith opened the scoring with his first goal of the post-season, a power-play goal on a short backhand at 10:54 of the first period. Toronto converted another power-play chance at 14:55 as centre Peter Holland slipped a backhand over the glove of Wolves goaltender Jake Allen. The teams were at even strength in the second when Greg McKegg scored his second goal of the playoffs at 5:02 with a slapshot for a 3-0 lead. "Once they got up a couple of goals they (played) a little freer, they felt good about themselves and it took us a while to get back on track," said Chiicago coach John Anderson. wholesale nfl jerseys. The Wolves got on the board five minutes later as Christian Hanson dumped a short rebound shot past MacIntyre. Chicago winger Michael Davies cut the deficit to 3-2 at 17:26, beating MacIntyre on a one-on-one. Toronto restored a two-goal lead at 3:53 of the third period. Winger Carter Ashton slipped while shooting but his wide, wobbly shot was deflected off Allens stick into the net. The Marlies closed out the Wolves on Sam Carricks fourth post-season goal at 17:19. "There were a couple of mistakes that cost us goals," Spott said. "We didnt get in the shot lane when we should have and had a bad line change in the second period. But beyond those two mistakes I thought we played a pretty thorough road game." Allen finished with 30 saves for Chicago. In two regular season meetings this season, seven-of-eight combined goals by the Wolves and Marlies came on power plays. The Marlies claimed a 3-2 overtime win at Chicago on Jan. 17 while the Wolves had a 2-1 triumph eight days later in Toronto. The series resumes Saturday in suburban Chicago then shifts to Torontos Ricoh Coliseum next Wednesday for at least two games, and three if necessary. The post-season series is the first between the teams since 2008. The Wolves went 4-1 on the way to their most recent Calder Cup. cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
