Federkunde » Dirk Nowitzki missed his fifth straight game with a ri

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 Discount Nike NFL Jerseys . The next step is a better finish. 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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka were both still awake at 5 a.m., a mere nine hours before they would play for the Olympic bronze medal.Hlavackova had spent all night at the hospital, undergoing a CT scan after a volley to her face fractured an orbital bone. Yet she was more distraught the next day about her teammates plight: Their womens doubles match was scheduled less than 13 hours after Hradeckas mixed doubles quarterfinal ended past 1 a.m.Their bodies betraying them both Saturday afternoon, Hlavackova and Hradecka went from being so close to a guaranteed medal to leaving Rio de Janeiro without one.In Fridays semifinals, the Czechs were one point from victory when Switzerlands Martina Hingis crushed a swinging volley into Hlavackovas face. Hlavackova crumpled to the court in tears, and she and Hradecka went on to lose to Hingis and Timea Bacsinszky 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-2.Hlavackova spent five hours at the hospital, and as of Saturday morning, she was 90 percent sure she couldnt play. But an hour before the matchs scheduled 2 p.m. start, Hlavackova warmed up and felt OK, and she went on court with three blue and white strips of medical tape radiating from her swollen left eye.Her compromised vision was a bigger problem than the pain. Still, the fear of straining her facial muscles too much meant she couldnt put the normal oomph into her strokes.I couldnt serve hard; I couldnt hit the balls hard, Hlavackova said. I was really worried I would damage my eye.Yet she and Hradecka were up a break in the first set, in position to serve it out. Thats when Hradeckas ailments became the greatest impediment.Her mixed doubles match with Radek Stepanek didnt start against Romanias Irina-Camelia Begu and Horia Tecau until nearly 11:30 p.m., because Tecau had played in the mens doubles final earlier in the night. Hradecka got to bed around 3:15 a.m. but couldnt fall asleep until about 6.Asked how she felt on court Saturday, she replied with a pained laugh: Totally dead.And it caught up to her when she tried to serve out the first set.I felt like my legs are so heavy, Hradecka said. From this moment, I couldnt move.They went on to lose 7-5, 6-1 to Czech teammates Lucie Safarova and Barbora Strycova.Hlavackova was incensed that tournament officials didnt schedule the bronze-medal match later in the day considering the timing of Hradeckas mixed doubles -- and she said she let them know.Theres no chance you can be ready for a match like that, she said.dddddddddddd Its really a failure.Hradecka never considered pulling out of her mixed doubles quarterfinal.Radek is here just for the mixed, she said, so I have to be ready.After Fridays semifinals, Hlavackovas opinion of Hingis volley was: It happens. Hitting the ball into an opponents body is an accepted strategy in doubles.Then she watched a clip of the shot.Shes one of the greatest who knows where to put the ball, Hlavackova said of Hingis, a 12-time major womens doubles champion. When I saw the video and I saw the space which was around me, I have to admit that she could have put it away.Hlavackova, who said she has a good relationship with Hingis, was also troubled by the Swiss stars reaction to the injury.She was more worried about not getting a medical timeout for me than about my eye, Hlavackova said.Hlavackova may need surgery but is hoping she wont. Hradecka still has a chance at a medal in Rio, playing for bronze in mixed doubles Sunday against Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna of India.Hlavackova and Hradecka, who were seeded sixth, do already own a medal together, a silver in 2012 after losing to Venus and Serena Williams in the final. Theyve won two Grand Slam titles as a team.Hingis and Bacsinszky face Russians Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina for gold Sunday.The bronze medalists, Safarova and Strycova, werent even supposed to team up in Rio. When Safarovas original partner, Karolina Pliskova, withdrew, Strycova wasnt sure she would be allowed to replace her.Then we figure it out that we can, Strycova said, and then we have a medal. Its amazing.Strycova and Safarova had been 0-1 as a team, then they went out and stunned the three-time Olympic doubles gold medalist Williams sisters in the first round.Close friends who played together in juniors, Strycova and Safarova tend to finish each others sentences. If only the bronze didnt come at the expense of their teammates.It was awful, Safarova said.We know each other so well, she added. Especially after what happened as well to Andrea yesterday.At any other tournament, Strycova said, you would be kind of like, `Next week, guys, another chance.Not when the Olympics roll around just once every four years.This is the one and only, she said, and you want to get it so much. ' ' '