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NEW YORK -- Frustrated with the lack of playing time in his first year in the NBA last season, Brooklyn Nets reserve forward Mirza Teletovic stayed composed and patient. Now with a chance to contribute, Teletovic is coming up big for the Nets. Teletovic scored 24 of his career-high 34 points in the second quarter and the Nets held on to beat the Dallas Mavericks 107-106 Friday night for their fourth straight win. "Confidence is very important. With the confidence its so much easier to make shots, to move around, to play and do anything on the court," said Teletovic, who shot 12 for 18 from the field including 7 of 11 beyond the 3-point arc. "I think its very important to have patience and wait for your moment. You have to be ready when your name is called. If youre not ready, you cant do anything." The Nets improved to an NBA best 9-1 in January. "I think just the opportunity for him playing, but also his work ethic," coach Jason Kidd said. "He just doesnt show up on game day shooting. Hes been working extremely hard at this game. I think also, a big credit goes to his teammates because they believe in him. As much as coaches believe in him, his teammates in that locker room believe that hes going to do the right thing when he has the ball." Paul Pierce had 12 points and Kevin Garnett added 10 points and 11 rebounds for Brooklyn, which has won seven straight at home, a season-high. Former Net Vince Carter had 19 points and Dirk Nowitzki added 18 points for the Mavs, who lost their second straight game. Brooklyn almost blew a 11-point lead after Teletovic hit a 3-pointer to make it 100-89 with 4:35 left in the fourth quarter. Dallas then mounted a late rally, going on an 11-5 run to close in within two points with 8.1 seconds left in the game. Deron Williams, who came off the bench for the third straight game and posted 18 points and dished out 11 assists, hit one of two free throws to extend the Nets lead to 103-98 with 27.3 left. The Mavs cut the lead down to 103-100 after Donta Ellis made a layup and Brooklyn was able to quickly increase it to 105-100 after Ellis sent Pierce to the free throw line for a pair of successful shots. Shawn Marion managed to bring Dallas within three points after two free throws with 10.8 left to make it 105-102. Nowitzki then got fouled by Pierce. He hit the first free throw that made it 105-103 but missed the second attempt. Pierce and Andrei Kirilenko each hit a pair of free throws to make it a 107-103 game before Ellis hit a 3-point before time expired. Brooklyn forced 15 turnovers and scored 23 points off of them. "When you give up 23 points off turnovers in a one possession game, its another story teller of the reason we lost," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "We were just poor defensively. Mirza Teletovic hit his first couple of shots and we just let him keep going and you just cant do that." Nowitzki shot 5 for 15 from the field and hit just two 3-pointer in eight attempts, crediting his former teammate, Kidd, who was on the 2011 Dallas championship team, with the game plan that had him off throughout the night. "They didnt stop me from getting the ball but once I got it they double-teamed me pretty good", Nowitzki said. Teletovic and Williams got it going for the Nets in the second quarter after they trailed 21-18. The reserve forward Teletovic tied it 23-all with the first of six 3-pointers he made in the period. He scored 19 of the Nets 23 points in the first six minutes to give them a 41-33 lead with 5:51 left. For Williams, it was his third straight game off the bench since returning to the Nets from a left sprained ankle. The Nets point guard had only one turnover in 35 minutes. Williams understood the tough time that Teletovic went through last season and commended him for the way he handled the tough situation. "It speaks a lot about him. (He was) definitely frustrated a lot last year with his lack of playing time. Mirzas a competitor and hes been one of the top players in Europe for a long time," he said. NOTES: Ever since Kidd switched to a starting lineup of Pierce, Garnett, Joe Johnson, Alan Anderson and Shaun Livingston, the Nets have gone 7-0 this season. All seven wins have come during their last eight games. . Garnett and Pierce travel to Boston for their first game there Sunday night. Both players did not play when the team travelled there for a preseason game in October. Doug McDermott Jersey ., climbed from seventh to fifth spot in womens competition Sunday at the ISU world junior figure skating championships. Reggie Miller Jersey .com) - A pair of Eastern Conference rivals will meet on Saturday as D. http://www.authenticbasketballshoppacers.info/darren-collison-pacers-jersey/ . Its the second straight year he has decided not to play as he cuts back his schedule. Stricker was replaced in the field by Ryo Ishikawa of Japan. Aaron Holiday Jersey . - Chris Davis hit a two-run double, scoring Nelson Cruz in his Orioles debut in Baltimores 9-7 win over to the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday. Tyreke Evans Jersey .S. Basketball Writers Association. McDermott, who finished his career at Creighton as college basketballs fifth-leading scorer, accepted the honour from Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson at AT&T Stadium, site of the Final Four. MIAMI -- Down by 15 early, the Miami Heat could have hit the panic button. Instead, they found a way to move within two wins of another trip to the NBA Finals. LeBron James scored 26 points, Dwyane Wade added 23 and the Heat shook off a horrid start to beat the Indiana Pacers 99-87 on Saturday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, taking a 2-1 lead and breaking a back-and-forth trend in the rivalry. The teams had alternated wins and losses in 13 straight meetings -- until now. Miami once trailed 37-22, before outscoring Indiana 77-50 the rest of the way. "A lot of our situations that weve been through where weve struggled have been against this team," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "Thats what they do to you. Theyre very good. Its a function of their defence. "But we had no choice but try to re-gather." That they did. And then some. Ray Allen added 16 points and led a late-game charge for the Heat, who will host Game 4 on Monday night. And it was the second time this season the Heat rallied from 15 points down to beat the Pacers in Miami -- it also happened on Dec. 18. "Tough loss for our guys," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "Thought we competed pretty well, came out of the gates really strong, got off to a good start and then didnt manage our foul trouble well and didnt manage picking up their defensive intensity well." Its the third straight series where the Pacers have faced a deficit. "A ton," Vogel said when asked how much resiliency the Pacers have left. "Its very early in the series." Paul George scored 17 points for Indiana, shooting 5 for 13 in his return after being concussed late in Game 2. Roy Hibbert had 16 points, David West added 13 and Lance Stephenson scored 10 for the Pacers, who never trailed until early in the third quarter. Miami started the game 2 for 10 from the floor. The Heat then made 21 of their next 31 shots, including eight straight in the third that gave the two-time defending NBA champions their first lead. James dunk with 7:36 remaining in the third put Miami up for the first time, 52-51. That was the first of nine lead changes in the quarter, before the Heat did what Spoelstra implored his team to do in a pregame locker room address. "Impose our identity," Spoelstra said. Eventually, the message reached the Heat, and their two best players led the way. "We just want to get better as the series goes on," James said. "WWe want to move their defence from side to side.dddddddddddd When we do that, we give ourselves an opportunity to get to the lane. And when our shooters get going it definitely adds more space as you saw in the fourth quarter." James 3-pointer with 1:21 left in the third put Miami up 67-63, then its biggest lead of the night. Wade subbed in for James with 5.7 seconds left because the four-time MVP was dealing with what appeared to be a hamstring cramp and connected on a 3-pointer with 1.4 ticks remaining for a 74-67 lead going into the fourth. James retreated toward the locker room at that point, stopping halfway down the hallway known as "Championship Alley" while trainer Mike Mancias stretched him out. Meanwhile, Wade -- not exactly known for behind-the-arc prowess -- opened the fourth quarter with another 3, the Heat were up 10 and the floodgates were opening. Indiana got to 76-74 before Allen made a 3-pointer, and with that, the tone was set for the final minutes. Allen made three 3s in the final 5:59, the last of those putting Miami up by 15. "I think we need to stick to what we do," West said. "We got away from ourselves. We tried to make some stuff on the fly, which is not us." The halftime score looked ugly: Pacers 42, Heat 38. That didnt even come close to describing how much Miami struggled at times. Heres one example: After 11 minutes, it was Hibbert 10, Heat 10. Indiana led 19-5 early and 37-22 midway through the second. Luis Scola scored eight points off the bench in less than three minutes, and the Pacers were rolling. Or at least, looked like they were rolling. In the final 6:22 of the half, they had more turnovers (six) than points (five). And Miami took advantage, especially after George went to the bench with his third foul. Wade and James combined for 14 of Miamis final 18 points in the second, and a pair of short shots by Wade in the final minute helped pull the Heat within four at the break. NOTES: Commissioner Adam Silver was in attendance, posing with plenty of fans for photos. ... Stephenson had nine rebounds by halftime. The Heat, in total, had 11. ... Heat F Shane Battier, announced earlier in the day as the winner of the leagues Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award, got his trophy in a pregame ceremony from 2013 recipient Chauncey Billups. ... Greg Oden was active for Miami for the first time since Game 4 of the opening round, with Michael Beasley on the inactive list. 23:54ET 24-05-14 ' ' '