issippi State dropped six spots from fourth a

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DENVER - The Denver Nuggets escaped with Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki sitting out Wednesday night. They know they will have to deal with the former MVP when they meet again Friday night in Dallas.Ty Lawson had 29 points and 12 assists and the Nuggets beat the slumping Dallas Mavericks 114-107.Kenneth Faried scored four of his 22 points down the stretch and grabbed 14 rebounds to help the Nuggets run their winning streak to five.Weve got to keep building on it, forward J.J. Hickson said. This game means nothing if you dont win the next one.The next one is against the Mavericks in Dallas against some rested stars. Dallas coach Rick Carlisle gave three of his best players the night off after an overtime victory Tuesday night in Sacramento.Tyson Chandler and Rajon Rondo, as well as Nowitzki, rested while Raymond Felton, Richard Jefferson and Greg Smith started. It was the first starts for Felton and Smith.I thought all things considered we did a lot of good things, Carlisle said. But we had too many lapses and mistakes and the rebounding deficit was one of the big problems again.The starters struggled for much of the night, leaving the bench to keep the Mavericks in the game. The Dallas reserves scored 62 points, led by J.J. Barea with a season-high 17.Richard Jefferson scored 16 points for Dallas, which has lost three of four.All year our strength has been our depth, Jefferson said. We had everyone on the bench score in double figures. The bench outscored the starters. We take pride in that.Jefferson and Chandler Parsons awoke in the fourth to bring the Mavericks back. The pair led Dallas on a 15-5 run that cut it to three late in the game. Devin Harris missed two tying 3-pointers, and Faried hit two free throws and a layup to make it 108-101 with 1:19 left.Faried also had a block at the rim on rookie Dwight Powell with Denver leading 104-101.I was able to get my hand in there and stop him from getting to the basket, Faried said. At the end of the game I was in that zone. I was able to help defensively and help rebounding. I made my free throws and I finished at the rim.The Nuggets, like Dallas, had only 10 available players after Tuesdays trade that sent guard Nate Robinson to Boston for Jameer Nelson. Lawson played all but 3:37 of the game to help get Denver (18-20) closer to .500.I knew I was going to play at least 40 unless Erick Green had a good night, Lawson said. Probably got winded in the second quarter.Denver took control of the game early in the third quarter. After Parsons 3-pointer made it 61-55 the Nuggets scored 13 straight points to take a 74-55 lead midway through the period.Dallas got within eight after a 12-1 run but Denver led 90-78 going into the fourth.We gave ourselves a chance to win the game, Barea said. It was great for the team in the long run.NO REST FOR THE WEARYDallas guard Monta Ellis was 1 for 11 from the field a night after logging 40 minutes in Sacramento. He didnt play in the fourth quarter.I should have rested Ellis. I should have just insisted that he didnt play, Carlisle said. He looked tired. He couldnt get into the game. In the third quarter I just said, Hey, enough.TIP-INSMavericks: Carlisle said he doesnt think Rondos left achilles soreness nor Chandlers ankle injury will be a long-term problem. He cited the heavy minutes both played Tuesday as reasons for sitting them and Nowitzki against Denver. ... Dallas in the midst of playing 14 of 19 games on the road.Nuggets: Nelson should join the team Thursday and could play Friday. ... Coach Brian Shaw said F Danilo Gallinari (right knee) and C JaVale McGee (left leg soreness) could return to the lineup by the end of January. Guard Randy Foye (right quad strain) may play next week.UP NEXTMavericks: Host Denver on Friday night.Nuggets: At Dallas on Friday night. . The 30-year-old Moore played in 13 games for the Saints last season, catching 37 balls for 457 yards and two touchdowns. . - The Baltimore Ravens and tight end Dennis Pitta reached agreement on a five-year contract Friday. http://www.thecardinalsshoponline.com/Y ... ls-Jersey/. Canada will host the second stop on the circuit, the 2014 Skate Canada International in Kelowna, British Columbia from October 31 - November 2, 2014 at Prospera Place. . The Rangers centre left early in Game 1 with an upper body injury after being checked by Canadiens defenceman Mike Weaver and has not played since. Brassard told reporters after practice that he was good to go. That brought a smile to the face of Rangers coach Alain Vigneault. . "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing.New York, NY - Alabama is the new top-ranked team in college football, according to the latest Associated Press poll, and by a very slim margin. The 11-1 Crimson Tide, already No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings, surpassed undefeated Florida State in the media voting after another narrow escape by the Seminoles on Saturday. Alabama, which rallied for a 55-44 win over Auburn on Saturday in the annual Iron Bowl, received 25 first-place votes and a total of 1,426 points from a nationwide media panel. Florida State, after a 24-19 win over Florida extended its winning streak to 28, has 29 first-place votes but only 1,423 total points. Oregon picked up the remaining five first-place votes and 1,391 points to remain third. TCU jumped two spots into fourth, leaping over Baylor, which remained fifth after a close finish against Texas Tech. Ohio State, which lost quarterback J.T. Barrett for the remainder of the season because of a fractured ankle, moved up one spot into sixth and was followed by Michigan State, Arizona, Kansas State and Mississippi State. Arizona rose four places from 12th following its win over Arizona State and Mississippi State dropped six spots from fourth after a loss to Ole Miss in the Egg Bowl.dddddddddddd The second 10 consists of Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Missouri, Georgia, UCLA, Arizona State, Oklahoma, Clemson and Auburn. Georgia tumbled seven spots from eighth after a home loss to Georgia Tech and UCLA also dropped seven spots from ninth after a loss to Stanford. Louisville, Boise State, LSU, Utah and Nebraska are the last five teams ranked this week. LSU, Utah and Nebraska all returned to the poll after being ranked previously. The Huskers are back in on the same day they fired coach Bo Pelini. Marshall, which had its undefeated season stopped in a 67-66 overtime loss to Western Kentucky, fell out from 19th, while Colorado State and Minnesota also dropped out after losing on Saturday. Conference championships and the Big 12 finales are featured next week, starting Friday when Arizona takes on Oregon for the Pac-12 title. On Saturday, Alabama meets Missouri in the SEC, Florida State battles Georgia Tech in the ACC and Ohio State squares off against Wisconsin in the Big Ten. Baylor, TCU and Kansas are all still alive in the Big 12, which does not have a championship game. Baylor hosts Kansas State and TCU will welcome a 2-9 Iowa State to Fort Worth. ' ' '