DALLAS - If the Dallas Mavericks ever figure out the third quarter, they might be on to something in their quest to rejoin the elite in the Western Conference.Until then, theyll be dealing with some frayed nerves.Chandler Parsons scored 29 points, including a key 3-pointer to help Dallas hang on after going up by 30 before halftime for the second time in two home games, and the Mavericks beat the Boston Celtics 118-113 Monday night.Its concerning, said Parsons, who also won a key jumpball with Boston within three in the final minute after trailing by 31 in the second quarter. I love how we never give up after we give up the lead. But we cant allow these teams to keep coming back in and cutting the lead.Jeff Green led the Celtics with 35, and Avery Bradley had a career-high 32 but missed one of three free throws with a chance to tie with 39 seconds left after getting fouled on a 3-pointer by Monta Ellis.We shot ourselves in the foot in the first half the last two games, said Green, whose team trailed Houston by 19 at halftime in a loss Saturday. By the end we were out of gas. We cant allow teams to be the aggressor the first 12 minutes. Thats what happens.Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 for the Mavericks, who shot 73 per cent in the first quarter and had at least 66 points at halftime for the third straight game, all wins since a season-opening loss at San Antonio.But Dallas cooled off and couldnt shake Boston the way it did Utah after going up by 30 before halftime and losing more than half the lead in an 18-point win in the home opener.The Mavericks have been outscored in the third quarter of all four games, three times by double digits. New Orleans scored 37 while wiping out most of a 17-point deficit on Saturday. The Celtics hit eight of their first nine shots in a 38-point third quarter.To continue getting the leads, that would be great, Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. If we can keep doing that, we will deal with the other stuff. We will get it solved.Parsons had a 3-pointer and an easy layup after a turnover to push Dallas lead to 114-104 before the Celtics scored seven quick points to get close again in the final minute.After Bradley missed the second of three free throws with a chance to tie, Ellis put Dallas back up by three at 116-113 with a driving layup.The Celtics had another chance to get even when Green missed a 3 with 20 seconds left, and Parsons won the tip with Jared Sullinger after they ended up in a jump ball following a mad scramble on the floor.SMARTS HOMECOMINGThe first time Boston cut its 31-point deficit to 3 in the fourth quarter, it came on a 3-pointer by rookie first-round pick Marcus Smart, who played at a Dallas-area high school and had quite a cheering section for his first pro game close to home. Several dozen students from Marcus High School in nearby Flower Mound wore T-shirts that read, We Are 4 Marcus, with his No. 36 inside a shamrock.Some of the guys played on the JV team when I was on the varsity. It makes me feel old, said the 20-year-old Smart, who got a loud ovation when he came into the game and finished with seven points, six rebounds and three assists.TIP-INSCeltics: Boston was 11 of 31 from 3-point range after making just 1 of 25 from beyond the arc in Houston. Bradley was 4 of 6 and Green was 5 of 12. ... Rajon Rondo had team highs with 15 assists and nine rebounds. ... Bradley scored 14 points in the fourth quarter.Mavericks: Tyson Chandler had his first double-double since returning to Dallas with 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. ... Parsons and Nowitzki combined to go 8 of 9 on 3-pointers. ... Forward Al-Farouq Aminu left the game in the second quarter with a left knee injury. Carlisle said he didnt think the injury was serious.UP NEXTCeltics: Return home to face Toronto on Wednesday after a two-game Texas swing opened the road schedule.Mavericks: Get two days off before their first back-to-back on the road at Portland and Utah. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Arsenal Jersey . A day after FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said three stadiums would not be ready in time for the Dec. 31 deadline, Brazilian officials said they actually plan to deliver all six remaining venues after that date. They claim only three are delayed, with the other three being handed over after the expected date only because of problems accommodating the schedule of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who wants to be present for the ceremonies. Sead Kolasinac Jersey . Head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed on Sunday that his starting goalie has a head injury and the team will take it day by day. http://www.footballarsenalstore.com/Women-Rob-Holding-Arsenal-Fc-Jersey/ . The win puts the final playoff berth in Group A in question. If the Czechs beat Slovakia on Tuesday, they will go through. If they lose, Germany will get the last quarter-final berth. Petr Cech Arsenal Jersey . Floundering in the English Premier League, United has delivered better performances in Europe this season and stunned Bayern by taking the lead against the run of play through Nemanja Vidics header in the 58th minute. Bayern had dominated possession but struggled to create a clear-cut chance before Schweinsteiger arrowed a half-volley high into the net in the 67th to give the German side a slight advantage ahead of the second leg in Munich next week. Konstantinos Mavropanos Arsenal Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at a Wild team that has a nice mix of proven veterans along with young, inexpensive talent on the rise. When the Wild signed Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, making a big splash in the summer of 2012, it set the franchise on a path to being more competitive, but a big reason that they have been so competitive is the contributions of young players who still have more to give.BARCELONA - I love the Grand Prix Final because it is the top six qualifiers in each discipline from the six qualifying Grand Prix events. I love watching the practices where you can analyze and compare the skaters head to head against the seasons best. The competition is concentrated, streamlined and right to the point. The best six men to date, followed by the best six women, and so on. Its mid-point through the competitive season and we get a chance to look at where we stand. Canada will challenge for Gold in both Pairs and Ice Dance. Neither team goes in as the favourite on paper but both are capable of winning the title. Megan Duhamel and Eric Radford sit in the number 2 spot in the points race just behind Olympic Silver Medalists Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov of Russia. They sit ahead of another Russian pair and three very strong and rapidly emerging Chinese teams. I sat rinkside in Osaka, Japan for Megan and Erics second Grand Prix and to watch their short program was to see them take their skating to the next level. Their confidence and ease with their elements was clear. They were a commanding presence on the ice and for me, it was their best skate ever both technically and emotionally. Their strategy has always been to go for maximum difficulty which often meant giving up some points for polish and quality. What was noticeable was the ease with which they did their side-by-side triple lutzes. This is not a jump that any other pair team attempts. They used to land them without points for style. In Japan their triple lutzes were totally in sync with clean and powerful entries and exits and full marks for quality for the difficult jumps. It will take a short program like they had in Japan coupled with a Free Skate of equal quality to upset the Russians who have looked so impressive and spot on this season. In the Ice Dance there are three teams that have, with points and wins, separated themselves from the rest. Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates have a marginal points advantage over Canadians Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje and the rapidly improving French team Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizerone. Weaver and Poje have missed some levels technically this season and hittinng those levels will likely make the difference in their quest for Gold here in Barcelona.dddddddddddd After the recent NHK trophy Andrew said, We did make a couple of mistakes that we definitely want to fix before the Final. They are known to improve and refine as their season unfolds and they will have to show that development here to come away with the win. Canada is showing its depth in Ice Dance at the Final with Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier also competing here, as well as two young teams who are in the Junior Final. Mackenzie Bent and Garret MacKeen, who train with Piper and Paul in Scarborough, and Madeline Edwards and Zhao Kai Pang, who train in Burnaby, each have a gold and a silver on the Junior Circuit and are contenders here. Its worth noting that not only are many Canadian Dance teams achieving super results they are also coming from training centres in Canada. It was the case, for many years, that the only way to get high level training was to leave home and move to another country. These top teams are staying and thriving and this bodes well for the young local talent coming up as the coaching and training sites for Ice Dancers in Canada are rapidly developing and excelling on the world stage. The Canadian pairs team of Julianne Seguin and Charlie Bilodeau are in the Junior Final as the highest ranked team. Their strong technical elements and their consistency have allowed them to outpoint the rest of the field by quite a margin. They are both strong single skaters and are a well matched pair, a combination that not only is giving them significant success on the Junior Circuit but will also be of great benefit to them in the future as they develop as a Senior team. 15-year-old Roman Sadovsky is Canadas lone entry in singles in Barcelona and he is another young skater to keep your eye on. He has strong basics and performance qualities well beyond his years which allow him to stand out. His triple axel is developing nicely in practice but yet to become a regular fixture in competition. He did not need it to get here, as his other fine qualities got him to Barcelona but it will be an element that he will have to master to vault in the standings and contend for gold. ' ' '