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DALLAS -- Monta Ellis figures the Dallas Mavericks are better off mentally than the last time they played a Western Conference contender. Armed with three straight wins against losing teams and their best record in almost two years, the Mavericks have to get ready for three games against playoff-worthy foes in the West. Ellis scored 21 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 15 and the Mavericks beat Orlando 107-88 Monday night, extending the Magics longest skid of the season to eight games. The Mavericks bounced back from a blowout loss to defending West champion San Antonio and now get set for a trip to the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, less than two weeks after blowing a late lead after Chris Paul left with a shoulder injury that still has him sidelined. "I think our mindset is different heading into this game on a three-game winning streak," said Ellis, who scored 14 in the first half to help build an 18-point lead that withstood a few challenges after halftime. "Hopefully we continue with it." Jameer Nelson scored 21 and Glen Davis added 19 points and eight rebounds for the Magic, who got swept on a swing through five Western Conference cities and lost by an average of 20 points. "Im disappointed that it didnt go the way we felt it should have went or could have went, but at the same time we get the opportunity to go home, see our families, sleep in our bed," Nelson said. "You get to play in front of your home fans." The Mavericks (23-16) moved seven games over .500 for the first time since the end of the lockout-shortened 2011-12 season -- the year after they won the franchises first championship. Nowitzki did most of his damage in the first half with 10 points, two nights after scoring 20 in the third quarter on his way to a season-high 40 against New Orleans. Vince Carter, who had 17 points, was 3 of 4 from 3-point range and had consecutive 2-point baskets in an 8-0 run that finally put Orlando away in the fourth quarter. The spurt included a long pass from Jae Crowder to Brandan Wright for a dunk that put Dallas up 97-82. Orlando was playing its second straight game without leading scorer Arron Afflalo (strained right foot) and starting centre Nik Vucevic, who was back in Florida after sustaining a concussion at the Clippers in the opener of the long road trip. "This is a team that is depleted because of injuries and stuff, but theyre an NBA team," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "They made a couple of runs at us. We did a good job of getting the lead back up in the game." Jose Calderon scored 13, including a 3 at the shot-clock buzzer that gave the Mavericks their biggest lead of the first half at 58-36. The shot came after Ellis missed badly on a wild layup, but Wayne Ellington grabbed one of his season-high seven rebounds and found Calderon beyond the arc. Nelson played despite injuring a finger in a loss at Denver two nights earlier and had seven assists The veteran guards supporting cast tried to keep the game close early in the second half, with Davis scoring the first six Orlando points after halftime as part of a 21-5 run that got the Magic to 63-57. Davis scored 12 during the run. "I was being more aggressive," Davis said. "I had nothing to lose. I ended up making a nice run and kind of getting the game under control a little bit. They just came back and made another run." Calderon hit another 3-pointer to get the Dallas lead back to 13, and Ellis pulled up from long range with the shot clock running down to finish a 12-0 spurt that put the Mavericks up 75-57. Ellington had a season-high 12 points. NOTES: Mavericks F Shawn Marion sat out again with shoulder and rib injuries, and rookie point guard Shane Larkin was sidelined with a right ankle injury sustained Saturday against the Pelicans. ... Magic F Maurice Harkless played despite a sore right knee and had 13 points and seven rebounds. ... Nowitzki became the 24th player in NBA history with 1,400 3-pointers on a shot that put Dallas up 84-64 late in the third quarter. Cheap Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys . Winners of two straight, the Flames will try to become the first team in 25 years to go three consecutive games without taking a penalty Saturday night in San Jose. Cheap Adidas Penguins Jerseys . And I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of my experiences gained through International competition and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Seven NHL referees and six linesmen will be assigned upcoming games in Sochi by the IIHF as part of their 28-man officiating roster comprised of 14 refs and 14 linesmen. http://www.adidaspenguinsjerseys.com/ . Huntelaar also had a penalty saved by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio. The two goals brought Huntelaars total for the season to 18, level with Bayern Munichs Mario Gomez for most in the league. Wholesale Penguins Jerseys . Bibeau, Torontos sixth-round pick at No. 172 overall in last years draft, was named the outstanding goaltender of the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . Bjoergen pulled away from Swedens Charlotte Kalla on the final straight to win in 38 minutes, 33.6 seconds and defend her title from the 2010 Vancouver Games. Kalla was 1.8 seconds back. Heidi Weng of Norway took bronze. DENVER -- Though the Nashville Predators couldnt keep Colorado off the scoreboard, they did keep the Avalanche out of the record book. Colin Wilson had two goals and two assists, Viktor Stalberg added a goal and an assist, and Nashville beat the Avalanche 6-4 on Wednesday night. Craig Smith and Paul Gaustad also scored for the Predators, who stopped Colorados six-game winning streak. Matt Duchene had a goal and two assists for Colorado (12-2-0), which fell one win short of NHL history. The Avalanche were attempting to set a franchise record and match the 2007-08 Ottawa Senators for the best 14-game start in league history. "When you have a taste of winning -- to use a bad analogy -- its like a drug. You crave it more and more," Duchene said. "It feels terrible and weve felt this twice this year and it feels awful. It feels that much worse. When youre used to losing, its just another game, but when youre used to winning it hurts that much more." After finishing with the worst record in the Western Conference last season, the Avalanche are near the top this season. "As much as I wish to be 81-1, its a little tough," Colorado coach Patrick Roy said. "Theyre a good team; its a nice way for us to learn." It took a career game from Wilson, who has worked his way back from a shoulder injury in March that ended his 2013 season. He had four points March 8, the game before he was hurt. "Obviously, it was great getting some numbers, getting the puck in the net, just to remember I can do it," Wilson said. "It was a while ago that I got injured, so it was good to get back at it." The Predators appeared to take control when Gaustad and Wilson scored early in the second to give them a 4-2 lead. Paul Stastny got one back with a power-play goal with 6:27 left in the period, and Duchene tied it 4:23 into the third. Wilson answered with his second goal of the night when he beat Semyon Varlamov at 7:34. "I felt the pressure on my back and I was going to slip it five-hole but decided to move it really quick to my backhand," Wilson said. Varlamov finishedd with 22 saves while allowing a season high in goals.dddddddddddd "Its always tough to give up five goals," he said. "It was not my greatest game this year." The Avalanche pulled Varlamov for an extra skater with more than a minute left, and Gabriel Bourque scored into the empty net. Nashville goalie Carter Hutton made 11 of his 27 saves in the third to preserve the win. The teams, now in the same division, found a reason to ramp up the rivalry when Colorado forward Jamie McGinn left his skates to check Nashville rookie defenceman Seth Jones into the boards. Jones stayed on the ice for a moment before skating to the bench under his own power. He went to the locker room but returned late in the period. "My face kind of went into the boards, bit my teeth a little bit but my head was fine," Jones said. "I was (worried) but I kind of knew right away when it happened. I went directly to my teeth and I didnt have a headache." McGinn was given a charging minor and the Predators capitalized with Smiths third goal to give Nashville a 2-1 lead. "You could see Seth was putting the brakes on, hes got his back turned, hes exactly what we talk about being a vulnerable player," Nashville coach Barry Trotz said. "McGinn takes the two or three hard steps and then I thought he left his feet. "I just thought he hunted him out and he was a vulnerable player, and thats what were trying to take out of the game." Stalberg opened the scoring with his first goal of the season at 13:12 of the first, and P.A. Parenteau tied it with his fifth 2:11 later. Ryan OReilly scored early in the second for Colorado. NOTES: Ryan Ellis and David Legwand had two assists each for Nashville. ... McGinn returned to the lineup after missing three games with a knee injury. ... Nashville C Matt Hendricks missed his second game with an upper-body injury while C Mike Fisher missed his first game with a lower-body injury. Both players are day to day. ... Avalanche LW Alex Tanguay will miss two weeks with a knee injury sustained in Saturdays win over Montreal. 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