by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, i

SALT LAKE CITY -- The offseason acquisition of George Hill was a clear upgrade at the point guard position for the Utah Jazz, but few expected this type of production from the nine-year veteran.Hill scored 25 points and the Jazz defeated the Dallas Mavericks 97-81 on Wednesday night.Hill continued to power the Jazz offensively after coming to the team in a three-way trade with the Pacers and Hawks last summer. He has scored 18-plus points in all five games, the only Jazz player to do so.Some of the things that hes doing, you were hopeful that he would do, Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. But youre equally pleased that hes doing them. Hes made big shots at crucial times. What Ive seen is his willingness to (say), `Where do you need me? Do you need me to score? Do you need me to get a stop? Do you want me to lead?The leadership component, to me, is probably the most unique. Thats something our team is responding to.The Mavericks trailed the entire game except for a 16-15 lead at the beginning of the second quarter. After shooting just 37.0 percent in the first quarter, the Jazz hit 49.2 percent the rest of the way. They were 12 for 25 from 3-point range.Im just happy were winning, I dont care about the numbers, Hill said. Just doing what it takes to try to win a game. Im glad my teammates have confidence in me to control the tempo out there and try to make plays.Rodney Hood scored 22 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Jazz as teammate Rudy Gobert had 12 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.Harrison Barnes led the Mavericks with 14 points, but they shot just 26.9 percent behind the arc.Its been a tough start for us, Mavs center Andrew Bogut said. No one is going to give us anything easy, so we got to dig ourselves out of this hole.We werent in the game, really from the start. Whatever it was, we were kind of chasing our tails from the start. Our bench did a great job of getting us back in the game. Made a run. We just couldnt sustain it.TIP-INSMavericks: Dirk Nowitzki started after missing the last two games with an illness. He scored nine points on 4-for-14 shooting. ... Point guard Deron Williams, who was drafted by the Jazz No. 3 overall in 2005, was still booed five years after being traded away.Jazz: Derrick Favors matched a season-high with 23 minutes as he works his way back from a knee injury. ... Dante Exum matched a season-high 10 points off the bench.STICKING AROUNDGobert signed a lucrative multi-year extension Tuesday to keep from entering restricted free agency after the season. The 7-foot-1, 245-pound center averaged career-highs in points (9.1), rebounds (11.0) and blocks (2.2) last season and has developed into one of the top defenders in the league. Gobert said the extension puts both he and the team on the same page and reinforces their belief in him. He knows he has to produce, but said there isnt any extra pressure. As a human, it wasnt really impacting my game, but in my mind you think about it a little bit, Gobert said. Now that its done Im focused on basketball and the team.MORE OFFENSEThe Mavericks entered the game ranked No. 15 in the league averaging 103.7 points per game. Coach Rick Carlisle is looking for more on that end of the court, but didnt get it Wednesday. We want to move the ball, Carlisle said. We want to get it in the paint as much as possible. Weve had some tough luck with shot-making, but that will come.UP NEXTMavericks: Host the Portland Trail Blazers and star point guard Damian Lillard on Friday.Jazz: Host the Spurs on Friday after upsetting Kawhi Leonard and company in San Antonio on Tuesday. Wholesale Nike Tanjun Shoes . -- Adam Snyder returned to the San Francisco 49ers this season because the offensive lineman thought it was his best opportunity to win a championship. Cheap Nike Tanjun Shoes . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. http://www.niketanjuncheap.com/ . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. Cheap Nike Tanjun Wholesale . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Nike Tanjun Shoes On Sale . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. MACOMB, Ill. -- Jake Kolbe threw a career-best four touchdown passes and Anthony Warrum had two TD catches for the second consecutive game, helping Illinois State outlast Western Illinois 31-26 on Saturday.After an opening three-and-out, Kolbe found Warrum, who had seven receptions for 152 yards, for a 58-yard score. Later he connected with Anthony Fowler from 15 yards out as the Redbirds (5-5, 3-4 Missouri Valley) led 14-0 after the first quarter.Western Illinois (6-3, 3-3) scored on Lance Lenoirs 54-yard punt return and a Sean McGuire TDD pass to Jamie Gilmore in the second, sandwiched between Warrums second TD catch, this one for 50 yards.ddddddddddddAfter a Western Illinois field goal cut Illinois States lead to 21-19, Kolbes fourth TD pass -- a 7-yarder to Christian Gibbs with 3:20 left in the third -- increased the Redbirds cushion to 28-19.McGuires second TD pass in the fourth quarter cut the lead 31-26. He finished with 312 yards passing. ' ' '