Boxengasse » dominated the recent era of the games.The USO

BOSTON -- The Celtics dont want to rely solely on Isaiah Thomas to win.But on some nights, putting the ball in the All-Star guards hands is simply the best option.Thomas scored 22 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter in Bostons 90-83 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night.He scored 20 of Bostons final 24 points to help the Celtics beat back a late Mavericks surge.Avery Bradley added 18 points and 13 rebounds.After the Mavericks took a 70-66 lead, Thomas scored Bostons next 13 points to put the Celtics back in front 79-76. They never trailed again.After one of the baskets late in the run Thomas ran down the court and flashed two thumbs up.I guess I just like that quarter, Thomas said. Sometimes guys get a little tighter, and then the pressure gets a little tougher for them. I guess I like the pressure.Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 28 points. Wesley Matthews added 22.Dallas, which was already missing several players because of injuries, lost two more. Starter Deron Williams exited in the second quarter with a left calf injury, and J.J. Barea was helped off the court in the fourth quarter after straining his left calf as well.Coach Rick Carlisle said it appears Barea will be out for a while, but added that he didnt think it was real serious. He said its his understanding that Williams just experienced some tightness.The Celtics outrebounded Dallas 53-32, which coach Brad Stevens said is a welcomed sign for a team that struggled in that department early in the season.Maybe its the law of averages, and some just bounced our way, Stevens said. But were defending at a better rate than we were.TIP-INSMavericks: Have lost three straight. ... Had a season-low 31 points at the first half. ... Dirk Nowitzki missed his fifth straight game with a right Achilles strain.Celtics: Thomas has scored 20 or more points in each of the first 11 games of the season. ... Scored a season-low 90 points. ...Tied their season high with 19 turnovers. ... Bostons 10-point second quarter was its lowest scoring output in a second quarter this season. ... Al Horford remains in the NBA concussion protocol and sat out his eighth straight game. Jae Crowder missed his seventh consecutive game with a sprained left ankle.TEAM MEETINGCeltics guard Marcus Smart said the team held a meeting after its blowout loss to the Wizards on Nov. 9 to help refocus its commitment on the defensive end.It was no coaches, just us, Smart said. We had to look ourselves in the mirror and come to the conclusion that it is on us and were the ones playing and that we have to get it together.Bradley said the conversation was frank and honest.Just that we need to hold each other accountable, he said. We werent playing to our ability. We had two or three guys playing hard at the defensive end, but the other three guys werent. And we needed everyone playing hard consistently as a team. Tonight I feel like was one our best defensive games.NO FREEBIESThere werent many trips to the free throw line in the first half for either team. The Celtics were just 2 for 6 in the half, and the Mavericks missed their lone attempt in the first quarter. Neither team attempted a free throw in the second quarter.INJURY UPDATEStevens said Crowder would practice Friday, but that he does not expect him to play Saturday against Golden State. Stevens said his last report on Horford was that the big man had a great workout on Wednesday.Carlisle said Dirk Nowitzki is making progress as well.It feel likes hes getting close, he said.UP NEXTMavericks: Return home Friday to host the Grizzlies, before heading back on the road for trips to Orlando and San Antonio.Celtics: Host the Warriors Friday, and then begin a three-game trip with a stop in Detroit on Saturday.---Follow Kyle Hightower on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/khightower Cheap NMDs Canada . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Stan Smith Shoes Canada .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. http://www.nmdshoescanada.com/nmd-r2-cheap-canada.html . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap. NMD Canada Online . On Mar. 16, coming off a "fight of the year" performance at UFC 154 the previous November, St-Pierre faced Nick Diaz at UFC 158 in what would be his eighth defence of the welterweight title. Using his superior athleticism, St-Pierre cruised to a five round, unanimous decision victory setting up a much-anticipated title defence against number one contender Johny Hendricks. Adidas Superstar Canada . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- After watching their athletes pile up medals in Brazil, leaders of the U.S. Olympic team came home and produced results that could resonate every bit as loudly.Among the U.S. Olympic Committees achievements over the past 10 days were the re-embracing of black sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos -- two of the most iconic figures in Olympic history -- the righting of a racially tinged omission dating back 80 years and the decision to take an unflinching look at where Americas Olympic teams stand in their mission to become more diverse.The USOC has used the weeks following the 2016 Games to remind both itself and the world that the Olympic movement was created to bring people of different nations, colors and creeds together -- and not to simply put on a lavish sports festival every two years.Football does it, basketball does it -- they pay homage to all the athletes that came before the people who are famous now, American sprinter Justin Gatlin said. So to be able to do that for our athletes, its an important step in the right direction.Smith and Carlos, whose raised fists on the medals stand sent a strong message about race and, in turn, got them kicked out of the Mexico City Olympics, were present for the USOCs history making trip to the White House last week -- marking what they called the first official USOC event theyd been a part of since their ouster in 1968.That White House trip also included relatives of Americas black 1936 Olympians -- a group that included Jesse Owens but that was never afforded that recognition upon their return from Berlin.And before the DC trip, the USOC unveiled its public scorecards for diversity hiring in a frank, and public, assessment of the Olympic teams shortcomings in that area.Plans for all these initiatives were hatched months ago -- long before Colin Kaepernicks national anthem protests helped vault the issue of racial inequality and police violence into the mainstream of sports.Were not just doing it because its the right thing to do, even though it is, said the USOCs CEO, Scott Blackmun, in speaking about the diversity scorecards. We need to improve our cultural competency. We need to harness the idea of a diverse talent pool because its effective, not just because its fair.ddddddddddddIn short, Blackmun would like to see the talent pool in administrative offices better reflect the talent pool on the field.Carlos, who joined Smith in what remains as one of the most powerful signs of protest in sports history, called his official return to the USOC family a rebirth.To evolve into one of the pillars of the sport and not be within the realm of the sport, its a sensational feeling to come back, Carlos said. I think itll be (good) for young kids to see Dr. Smith and myself, to hear our story and to encourage them to do the right thing relative to sports: Be clean, cherish your sport and spread your sport throughout society.Though those ideals have long been embedded in the Olympic charter, they have often been obscured by the cascade of spiraling costs, corruption, doping scandals and hosting problems that have dominated the recent era of the games.The USOC story line, meanwhile, often veered between its long quest to bring the Olympics back to the U.S. (The Summer Games havent been in America since 1996) and a revolving door of management and governance styles that, after long last, have found stable footing.Even so, a big chunk of Blackmuns own report card will be based on whether the USOC can help bring the 2024 Olympics to Los Angeles.But regardless of the bid, Blackmun has approached his leadership role with the awareness that the USOC has missions that go beyond winning medals and hosting the Olympics.The invitation of the relatives of the 1936 Olympians was especially poignant given they had a chance to shake hands with the nations first black president, Barack Obama.There were 18 black members of that team, including Owens, whose four-gold-medal performance in Nazi Germany, as Obama put it Thursday, Put a lie to notions of racial superiority -- whooped `em and taught them a thing or two about democracy and taught them a thing or two about the American character.---AP Sports Writers Pat Graham and Stephen Whyno contributed to this report. 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