DALLAS -- Patty Mills is a shooter no matter when he goes into the game. The San Antonio guard showed it in yet another win over the Dallas Mavericks. Mills scored 26 points starting in place of Tony Parker and the Spurs moved to the brink of the top seed in the Western Conference while likely forcing the Mavericks into a must-win situation with their playoff hopes by beating Dallas 109-100 on Thursday night. Making his second start of the season and seventh of his career with Parker nursing a bad back, Mills had 11 points and a pair of steals in the third quarter when the Spurs turned a two-point deficit into an 11-point lead. "Whether I start or come off the bench, theres a mentality," said Mills, who fell six points short of his season high on 25 shots -- one shy of the most hes taken this season. "Shooting shots is the same." The Spurs beat the Mavericks for the ninth straight time in the regular season, a streak that has lasted more than two years. Tim Duncan had 20 points and 15 rebounds after leaving briefly in the first quarter because of a hyperextended right knee. Kawhi Leonard added 16 points, a career-high 16 rebounds and five assists. Monta Ellis led Dallas with 24 points and Dirk Nowitzki had 19. Even with Parker back in San Antonio, the Texas rivals looked like the old playoff foes they are in an entertaining game with both teams trying to lock up their post-season plans. The Spurs are in, and the defending conference champions are just a win or an Oklahoma City loss away from securing the top seed in the West. The Mavericks (48-32) are in a scrum with Phoenix and Memphis -- their opponents in the final two games -- for the final two playoff spots a year after missing the post-season for the first time since 2000. Dallas is in a virtual tie with the Suns (47-31) and a game ahead of the Grizzlies (46-32). Both opponents have four games in the last six days of the season, with Phoenix coming to Dallas on Saturday night to finish a back-to-back that starts in San Antonio. "Obviously, Saturdays huge for us," said Devin Harris, who had eight points but was just 1 of 8 from the field. "Weve got to come out with that type of effort, knowing that our seasons on the line and its a game that we must have." The Spurs had a scary moment early when Duncan crumpled to the court holding his right knee and stayed down for a Dallas possession at the other end. When the Spurs got the game stopped with 5:58 left in the first quarter, he headed for a tunnel but emerged a few minutes later and returned to the game. "It really wasnt that bad," Duncan said. "It just scared me more than anything." Parker missed his second straight game after leaving early in a win over Memphis on Sunday. The Spurs trailed by as many as 28 points and never led in a 19-point loss to Minnesota without Parker, but Mills started in place of Cory Joseph and took over against the Mavericks. Mills had eight points on an 11-0 first-half spurt that lasted just a minute and a half and answered a 14-2 run by Dallas to put San Antonio back in front by five. After Duncan, Leonard and Danny Green keyed a 9-2 run to start the second half, Mills scored 11 of the next 13 San Antonio points capped by a 3-pointer for a 71-60 lead midway through the third quarter. "Hes always aggressive," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Hes not going to get a whole lot of rebounds or stop a whole lot of people, but hes going to shoot it. Thats what his skill is. Mills was 6 of 11 from 3-point range, and Green hit three from beyond the arc in the first 5 minutes and finished with 15 points as the Spurs matched their season high with 16 from long range on a season-high 34 attempts. "We just didnt find them quick enough," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "It was an area that was easily identifiable as one of the big keys of the game." Ellis scored 12 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter with the San Antonio lead hovering around double digits. He was just 5 of 16 from the field through three quarters. NOTES: Nowitzki got a standing ovation during a timeout after a video tribute to him passing Oscar Robertson for 10th on the NBA scoring list in a win at Utah on Tuesday. ... Actor Tobey Maguire ("Spiderman" and "The Great Gatsby") was in attendance. Michael Cooper Lakers Jersey .Sinclair, from Burnaby, B.C., led the Canadian team with three goals at the four-nation competition. She also earned tournament most valuable player honours.The Canadian captain scored on a penalty kick in the 63rd minute and added the winning goal a minute later. Jerry West Lakers Jersey . Right-hander Ricky Nolasco and the Twins agreed to terms on a free-agent contract Wednesday, a person with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press. http://www.lakersbasketballshop.com/Byron-Scott-Jersey/. Huntington doesnt want to help run the club unless Hurdle is in the dugout. The combination thats returned the franchise to respectability will remain intact for years to come. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Lakers Jersey .com) - Eric Fehrs goal 42 seconds into overtime lifted the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over Columbus, halting the Blue Jackets seven-game win streak. Nick Van Exel Jersey . Thats how the Ravens won when Ryan was their defensive co-ordinator from 2005-08, and that is precisely the formula Baltimore used to beat Ryans New York Jets on Sunday.Randy Carlyle could only speak for the moment when asked about his future as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, addressing the media on Tuesday for the first time after his teams season ended short of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. “Im here today,” he said when asked whether he would be back with the club for the 2014-15 season. “In this business you take on the responsibility of wins and losses, he continued. “You put your best foot forward and try to be honest and forthright with people and thats what were trying to do as a hockey club.” Carlyles future has been the subject of great speculation in the wake of a disappointing season for the Leafs. A March free-fall saw the team plummet from third in the Eastern Conference to a 38-36-8 finish, good for the eighth-worst record in the League. The teams first order of business once the off-season began was to appoint former NHL Director of Player of Safety and Hockey Hall-of-Famer Brendan Shanahan as the teams new president. While Carlyle could not comment on any impending changes under Shanahan – he is yet to formally meet with his new boss – he summed up the free-fall as a symptom of how the team played throughout the year. “The last 30 days of the season was the tell-tale story for our group,” Carlyle said. “The things that we were doing in the beginning and winning came to fruition in the final 30 days.” He pointed specifically to the teams inability to capitalize on a strong road trip to California in early March as a detrimental turning point in the season. After winning two of three road games against the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Los Angeles Kings in early March, the Leafs returned to the east coast, losing three games in four nights and kicking off what would become an eight-game stretch without earning a single point in the standings. “It seemed we played well enough to earn some respect,” Carlyle said of the California trip. “Then we seemed to have lost our mojo.” Froom then on, the teams confidence seemed to drop every time they conceded an early goal or did not perform up to expectations.dddddddddddd. “The first goal would go in and the shoulders would slump, that was the tell-tale sign,” he said. “Our response was very minimal.” The 57-year-old Carlyle has spent parts of three seasons with the team, taking over from previous Leafs head coach Ron Wilson with 18 games remaining in the 2011-12 season. Carlyle would lead the team to a 6-9-3 finish in his first year. His most successful year at the helm would be the following season when he led the Leafs to a 26-17-5 mark in strike shortened 2012-13 and, more importantly, the franchises first playoff berth since 2003-04. They would ultimately suffer a shocking defeat in Game 7 of their opening round series, surrendering a 4-1, third period lead in the final 11 minutes of regulation and falling in overtime to the Boston Bruins. Speaking to the teams 2012-13 success, Carlyle stated that he and the teams management were confident going into the season, but that they may have misjudged the teams strength. “We had been a competitive group the year previous and we felt this group was ready to take the next step,” Carlyle said Tuesday. “It didnt materialize.” Speaking to the teams defensive posture, Carlyle didnt see a consistent effort. “You have to play and you have to compete on the defensive side of the puck with will and commitment,” Carlyle said. “We didnt do that consistently.” “Were not asking players to do something they havent done before,” he added when asked about players molding to his coaching strategy. Carlyle currently has one year remaining on the three-year deal he signed after taking over for Wilson in 2012. He stopped short of offering up explanations for how to turn the Leafs fortunes around, capitulating with: "For now, we dont have the ultimate answer to give you and were embarassed by what just went down." ' ' '