DALLAS -- Darren Collison scored 25 points, Dirk Nowitzki added 16 and the Dallas Mavericks finished their worst season in 13 years on a winning note, beating New Orleans 99-87 in its final game as the Hornets on Wednesday night. . The Mavericks (41-41) avoided their first losing record since going 40-42 in 1999-2000 -- also the last time they missed the playoffs. Al-Farouq Amini had 16 points and a career-high 20 rebounds for New Orleans, which will become the Pelicans next season. Eric Gordon also scored 16 for the Hornets. Nowitzki, who also had a team-high nine rebounds, scored nine points in the third quarter, including a three-point play on a jumper and his one-legged step-back shot at the buzzer for a 75-64 lead. The Hornets got within six in the fourth quarter, but Collison scored eight straight points to key an 18-4 run that put the Mavs ahead by 20. Collison, brought in to bring youth to the Dallas backcourt but was twice replaced in the starting lineup by 30-something point guards, scored 13 in the first half and was 10-of-15 from the field. Mike James, the 37-year-old who joined Dallas on a 10-day contract and replaced Collison as the starter in early March, was 3-for-4 from 3-point range for nine points. Shawn Marion scored 15 for the Mavs. Dallas was trying to get back to .500 against the Hornets for the second time in four days. The stakes were a lot higher Sunday, when Nowitzki and other veterans finally got to shave some shaggy beards after vowing two months earlier not to break out the razors until they reached the break-even mark for the first time since mid-December. "We want to finish without having a losing record," said Dallas coach Rick Carlisle, who avoided his second losing record in 11 seasons as an NBA coach. "Theres meaning in that. And we want to end on a high note." The Hornets (27-55), long since eliminated from the playoffs for the third time in four seasons, were just looking for a better showing than the 107-89 loss over the weekend, when they fell behind 62-40 at halftime and shot just 38 per cent for the game. New Orleans got some energy early from Aminu, who nearly matched his career high of 16 rebounds in the first quarter. He finished the period with 14 and had already matched Kurt Rambis franchise record of 13 in the first 8 minutes. Aminu had two more boards than the entire Dallas team in the first half, and New Orleans outrebounded the Mavs 58-37 overall. NOTES: O.J. Mayo was sharply criticized by Dallas coach Rick Carlisle after Mondays loss to Memphis, which snapped a 12-season streak of winning seasons. Carlisle faulted the effort of Mayo, who had two points on 1-of-6 shooting with four turnovers and just one assists. "I dont blame him," said Mayo, speaking at Wednesdays shootaround after leaving without talking to reporters Monday. "I didnt play like Id like and just didnt have the energy I needed to play that game." Mayo held or shared the team scoring lead in 17 of the first 25 games without an injured Nowitzki, including a season-high 40 in a win at Houston on Dec. 8. But he was the leading scorer just twice in the final 25 games -- the last was more than a month ago -- and was passed by Nowitzki in scoring average. "I thought this year was a great learning curve," Mayo said. [url=http://www.worldsocceronlineshop.com/Manchester-City-Fc-Fernandinho-Jersey.... Manchester City Jersey . -- Lindsey Vonn squeezed in a little freeskiing on Thanksgiving morning, a step in the right direction for a return to racing after reinjuring her right knee in a recent training crash. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . It is not as though the returning players are about to take over the club, but the midfielders goal in a 2-1 victory over Toronto FC last Saturday at Olympic Stadium was a happy moment for the group that played last season in the North American Soccer League, which is rated as second division. http:/... . That focus kept him right in step when it counted. Arrieta pitched eight innings of five-hit ball Wednesday night, and the Baltimore Orioles ended Ivan Novas 15-game winning streak with a 5-0 victory over the New York Yankees. [url=http://www.nhlofficial.ca/dallas-stars-neal-broten-jersey-canada/]Neal Broten Stars Jersey Canada . Corey Crawford was right there when the defence collapsed. No playoff jitters this time. Instead, an impressive performance for the Chicago Blackhawks. ... Crawford Blackhawks Jersey Canada . Jakub Voracek scored the game winner for Philadelphia and the Flyers closed out their season with a 2-1 win in Ottawa on Saturday, depriving the Senators of gaining ground in the Eastern Conference standings.The Montreal Impact confirmed on Thursday that 15 more roster members from their 2013 team would be returning for 2014. The team announced that it exercised the options on 15 players including goalkeepers Evan Bush, Maxime Crepeau and Troy Perkins, defenders Matteo Ferrari, Karl W. Ouimette and Maxim Tissot and midfielders Patrice Bernier, Felipe, Wandrille Lefevre, Calum Mallace, Justin Mapp, Zakaria Messoudi, Sanna Nyassi, Blake Smith and Collen Warner. Already under contract for next season were defenders Jeb Brovsky, Hasssoun Camara and Adrian Lopez, midfielder Hernan Bernardello and forward Andrew Wenger. Er... Johnson Avalanche Jersey Canada. The team had previously confirmed in October that star striker and leading scorer Marco Di Viao would also be returning to the club in 2014. "We are happy to announce that 21 players will be back in 2014," said Impact sporting director Nick De Santis in a team release. "Its a very good core of players that will give us stability next season. The process to build a strong roster is well underway." ' ' '