d 18 and the Mavericks rolled past Oklahoma City 109-86 on Sunda

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Dallas Mavericks didnt care if Oklahoma City was without star guard Russell Westbrook. nfl jerseys china . They were just glad to finally beat the Thunder. Shawn Marion scored 19 points, Vince Carter added 18 and the Mavericks rolled past Oklahoma City 109-86 on Sunday night, ending a seven-game regular-season losing streak to the Thunder. Dallas beat Oklahoma City for the first time since Jan. 2, 2012. In addition to the seven straight regular-season losses to the Thunder, the Mavericks also were swept in a 2012 playoff series. "We played well," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "Look, theyre down a great player, so we caught a break there. But youve still got to go out and play and theyve had a great record with and without Westbrook. Its a game we needed. We need every one, the battle that were in. We did good things. We had to clean some things up at halftime with rebounding. We did. We had four good quarters." Oklahoma City played without three usual starters -- the injured Kendrick Perkins and Thabo Sefolosha in addition to Westbrook. With the team wanting to ease Westbrook back into gear after his most recent knee surgery -- which cost him 27 games -- he was given the game off to rest. The Dallas game was the opener of what will be three back-to-backs on the Thunder schedule by March 25. Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said Westbrook will return Monday when the Thunder visit the Chicago Bulls. Kevin Durant scored 30 points for Oklahoma City, his 26th straight game of 25 points or more, the longest such streak since Michael Jordan did so in 40 straight games during the 1986-87 season. But with most of the Thunders other players struggling offensively, that wasnt enough to make up for Westbrooks absence. Brooks said his team lacked energy and effort and Durant agreed with that assessment, saying the Thunder "just coasted" as they fell two games behind San Antonio in the race for the top spot in the Western Conference. Durant refused to blame the absence of the three starters for the teams lacklustre performance. "There is no excuse," he said. "Weve got to figure it out. Weve each got to do it. Were pros. ... Weve got to act like we care. It will be all right. Weve got another one tomorrow." Dirk Nowitzki added 17 points and Jose Calderon had 16 points for Dallas, which entered the game tied for seventh in the Western Conference standings. The Mavericks, who begin an eight-game homestand on Monday against the Boston Celtics, became only the third Western Conference team to win this season in Oklahoma City, joining Portland and the Los Angeles Clippers. "This is a tough place to play," Nowitzki said. "Obviously, Westbrook getting the night off, that helped us, but its really only a good thing if you win the game. Ive lost plenty of games in my career before when people were resting or hurt, but we still lost. Its only an advantage if you take care of business and I thought we did a good job." Porous defence, which Brooks has said has been at the root of Oklahoma Citys recent slump, again was an issue against the Mavericks. Dallas shot 53.3 per cent from the field and was even better from 3-point range, finishing 13 of 24. Calderon and Carter each went 4 for 8 from behind the arc and two other Mavericks (Marion and Nowitzki) had at least two 3-pointers apiece. Outside of Durant and Serge Ibaka (19 points), Oklahoma City struggled offensively. The Thunder shot 36.7 per cent from the field and never made a serious run during the second half after trailing 59-48 at halftime. Dallas led 91-70 entering the fourth quarter and the Mavericks eventually led by 26 points. NOTES: The Thunder signed G Mustafa Shakur to a 10-day contract on Sunday. Shakur, who has spent time in the NBA Development League this season, hadnt played in the NBA since appearing in 22 games for the Washington Wizards during the 2010-11 season before entering Sundays game with 6:16 left. He spent time on Oklahoma Citys roster during the 2009-10 season but never played. ... Carter raised his career total to 23,010 points, becoming the 27th NBA player to pass the 23,000-point mark with a 3-pointer with 2:17 left in the third quarter. ... Nowitzki was called for a technical foul with 7:52 left in the third quarter by official Derrick Collins after Nowitzki complained about being called for travelling by Collins. ... Reggie Jackson added 13 points for Oklahoma City. wholesale nfl jerseys . Ecclestone dismissed on Wednesday any clash between the series, after the top executive at Texas Motor Speedway called F1 "arrogant" for scheduling the United States Grand Prix in Austin on the same weekend that his track hosts NASCAR in Fort Worth. cheap nfl jerseys . Coverage kicks off from Philadelphia on Thursday as Hustler and Lawless tee up the action with a preview show. First round coverage starts on Friday at 3pm ct, as Hustler and Lawlesss and the Illegal Curve Hockey Show are live from the draft floor and continues on Saturday of rounds two through seven at 9am ct.ST. CATHARINES, Ont. -- Andreas Athanasiou had five goals and two assists to lead the Barrie Colts to a 9-2 victory over the Niagara IceDogs in Ontario Hockey League action on Thursday. Mitchell Theoret had a five-point game with two goals and three assists, while Tyson Fawcett and Nick Pastorious also had goals for the Colts (28-22-3), who were 3 for 8 on the power play. Eric Ming and Blake Siebenaler scored for the Ice Dogs (18-29-7). Mackenzie Blackwood made 26 saves for Barrie. Blake Richard allowed three goals on 17 shots in the first period, and his Niagara teammate Brent Moran stopped 17 of 23 shots the rest of the way. --- KNIGHTS 11 STING 0 SARNIA, Ont. -- London spread out the scoring, with Matt Rupert the only player to score twice in the Knights blowout of the Sting. Ryan Rupert, Max Domi, Chandler Yakimowicz, Michael McCarron, Bo Horvat, Chris Tierney, Josh Anderson and Mitchell Marner also scored for London (37-12-5), which had period leads of 4-0 and 7-0. The Knights outshot Sarnia (15-34-6) 43-17. Jake Patterson earned the shhutout. wholesale jerseys. Taylor Dupuis allowed four goals on 18 shots, while his Sting teammate Brodie Barrick let in seven goals on 21 shots. --- BATTALION 3 SPITFIRES 2 NORTH BAY, Ont. -- Nick Paul scored the winner as the Battalion rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Windsor. Barclay Goodrow and Miles Liberati got the other North Bay (29-20-6) goals. Brady Vail and Eric Diodati opened the scoring for Windsor (33-19-2). Jake Smith made 20 saves for the Battalion, while Dalen Kuchmey stopped 31 shots for the Spitfires. --- BULLS 5 PETES 3 PETERBOROUGH, Ont. -- Remi Elie snapped a 3-3 tie at 12:16 of the third period to lead Belleville past the Petes. Niki Petti scored twice for the Bulls, while Chad Heffernan and Cameron Brace got the other Belleville (16-33-5) goals. Hunter Garlent and Michael Clarke staked Peterborough (24-25-5) to a 2-0 lead in the first period, and Nick Ritchie made it 3-2 for the Petes late in the second. Michael Giugovaz made 33 saves for the Bulls, while Jason De Silva turned back 29 shots for the Petes. cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' '