The Kidd Play

This is my favorite take on just what is "basketball" and what isn't.

Arguments against Kidd's "dirty play" are both redundant and ridiculous considering the point is to WIN THE GAME.

Would I be pissed if I was a Hawks fan?
Hell yes, but at some point you have to give it to somebody that knows the rules just as well as the refs do and has the ability to use that to his advantage.

And why should Mike Woodson, or any other coach for that matter, be able to go onto the court and obstruct the field of play? Let this be a lesson to all coaches around the league who go a full 5-10 feet out onto the court to call defensive plays.

Kidd Takes Over - 111-103 OT

Jason Kidd played his best game of the season and the Mavericks overcame a 15-point deficit with a little under eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to force overtime. The Mavs won in overtime for their Western Conference best 19th road victory. (AP Photo/Gregory Smith)

I guess 36 must be the new 22...at least for Jason Kidd.

For the first time since he was 22 (and the last time this feat was accomplished), Kidd scored more than 15 points, grabbed over 15 rebounds, and dished out more than 15 assists. This time, Kidd is 36 but it looks as though the hunger remains.

The veteran point guard scored nine of the Mavericks final 10 fourth quarter points (all on threes) and the other point, a technical free-throw made by Dirk Nowitzki, happened because of a heads-up play by Kidd.

The Play:

With 1:37 to go in the fourth quarter and the Mavs desperately needing a basket, down 97-95, Kidd made a play for the ages.

As he jogged the ball down the court, Kidd noticed that Atlanta coach Mike Woodson was directing the Hawks defense and stepping out onto the court. Kidd then immediately raced down the floor and before Woodson could get out of the way, they had collided. Words were exchanged afterwords but the technical foul, rightfully called on the coach who is not allowed to stop onto the court, went on Woodson and the next thing you know Dallas had an extra point thanks to the unusual play.

"I said, 'You can't be on the floor. You don't have a uniform on," said Kidd, likely editing his actual, quite heated, words towards the Atlanta coach for content. "Rules are rules. The coach isn't supposed to be on the floor."

Little things like that is what many Mavericks' fans overlook about Kidd. Yes he hit a three immediately after this, putting Dallas up two with 56 seconds left and making it more likely that the game would at worst go to overtime. But even when he isn't having one of the best games of all-time, statistics-wise (only three other players have ever had 15, 15 ,15), he makes things happen that mere-mortal NBA players would never think of.

"I thought from there, mentally, we took control of the game," said Kidd. "That play just presented itself. It's just a reaction and just understanding what the team needs."

Even Hawks coach Mike Woodson couldn't deny the fact that it was the right call.

"He made a heck of a play," said Woodson. "Jason Kidd is an All-Star. He's a [potential] Hall of Fame guard. He's had a hell of a career. He did what he had to do. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out to favor the team. I've got to take the hit for that."

Kidd finished the game with 19 points, 17 assists and 16 rebounds.

After 'The Play'

Josh Smith's layup with 32 seconds left and a miss by both Dirk Nowitzki (one-foot fade-away) and Kidd (falling away from the basket) paved the way for a 99-99 tie at the end of regulation. The Hawks began the overtime period by missing their first eight shots and by the time they made their first basket it was too late as there was under a minute left and the Mavericks were up 106-99.

Overall, after Atlanta went up 86-71, Dallas outscored the Hawks 40-17 in the final 13:22 of the game (fourth quarter and OT). The Mavericks defense forced Atlanta into difficult situations and the Hawks simply folded under the pressure of the big comeback.

Defense Still Humming

Mid-way through the fourth quarter, the Dallas defense needed a change as they had allowed the Hawks to score at will up to the 8:00 mark of the fourth. Rick Carlise decided to go zone and it worked to perfection.

Atlanta made only 7 of 24 baskets (29 percent) after the 8:00 mark, including 2-9 in the overtime period. The three-point guard attack led the charge as J.J. Barea, Jason Terry, and Kidd (along with Nowitzki and Brendan Haywood) gave the Hawks fits on both ends of the court.

"They were smart enough to stay in the zone [defense] until late in the game," said Hawks sixth man Jamal Crawford. "When they [switched] we were up 13 in the fourth quarter. We got some great shots. Shots that, if we came in here tomorrow, we'd knock down most of them."

Isn't that a recurring team now with opponents facing the Mavericks defense? It seems like after every game a team would have made baskets if they had another chance. I guess it's not good defense, Dallas just keeps catching teams (six straight) on off nights. Yeah, that's what it must be.

Brendan Haywood, the anchor of the Mavericks' new defense, finished with his third double-double in the last six games with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Haywood added three blocks, a steal and even four assists for good measure.

Even though the Hawks got to 103 points, they shot only 40 percent for the game. Dallas' streak of consecutive games without allowing an opponent to score over 100 points (in regulation) is still in tact (seven games) as Atlanta had 99 at the end of the fourth quarter.

Mavs Forwards Get It Done

Dirk Nowitzki led all-scorers (what's new) with 36 points, while also chipping in nine rebounds, four assists, a steal and a block. This is nothing new for the All-NBA player, but Shawn Marion also put in some work along with Nowitzki, getting the Mavs out to a good start.

Marion made his first five shots of the first quarter, which were all finishes at the basket (four dunks and a lay-up). His 10 points was tied for a game high after the first quarter and Dallas was up 29-19 after the first quarter.

Not surprisingly, the other game-high scorer at that point was Nowitzki with 10, and the two forwards combined to score 20 of Dallas 29 first quarter points.

The pair combined to finish 22-37 from the field (59 percent) and 51 points. Not.Too.Shabby.

What's Next

To come back from 15 points down, on the road, with under eight minutes to go is outstanding no matter how you slice it. Take into account the opposition - 22-6 at home, fourth in the Eastern Conference with a record similar to Dallas - and this is one of the best games the Mavericks have played all season.

The Mavericks take on the Chris Paul-less New Orleans Hornets Sunday night in Dallas on the first night of a back-to-back and the start of a stretch of five games in seven days.

New Orleans is 31-28 this season (10-11 without Paul), 9th best in the West, but only 11-19 on the road. The Hornets have lost two of three overall and three straight on the road, but won their last contest (Friday against the Orlando Magic at home) 100-93.

Dallas is 1-1 against New Orleans this season, with each team having won at home. However, Paul played in both games.

Tip-off is at 8:30 p.m. and this is the third straight nationally televised game for the Mavs on ESPN.

News and Notes:

• Dirk Nowitzki has scored 30 or more points in back-to-back games for the third time this season.
• With six straight victories, the Mavericks have the longest current winning-streak in the NBA this season. Six wins in the longest streak for Dallas this season.
• Both Kidd's assist (17) and rebound (16) totals were season-highs.

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Mavs Take Out The Champs - 101-96

Even with Caron Butler in street clothes (reaction to medication), Dirk Nowitzki and the Mavericks proved they are not to be taken lightly against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

In front of a packed arena that included the likes of Tony Dorsett, Jay-Z and Beyonce, these Dallas Mavericks (37-21) showed what they are made of.

After many ties and lead-changes through three quarters, Jason Kidd put Dallas up for good 74-72 with a three-pointer to beat the buzzer at the end of the third quarter. The Los Angeles Lakers (43-15) stayed close in the fourth, keeping themselves within a basket up to around the 8:00 mark of the fourth.

The Mavericks then took over led by Dirk Nowitzki's 13, of his game-high 31 points, in the fourth quarter as he led a 15-9 run that put Dallas up eight (97-89) with 1:40 left. Nowitzki and Jason Terry combined to score 22 of the Mavs final 23 points, and no other Maverick made a basket in the fourth quarter. Terry finished with 30 points on 10-20 shooting and was the game's second-leading scorer behind Dirk. JET picked the perfect time to have one of his best game's of the season, with Butler out and the Lakers coming to town.

"This is our type of ballgame," said Terry, who has finished with 30+ points three times this season. "Any time in the fourth quarter and the game is close, it's going to be up to myself, [Jason Kidd] or Dirk to get the win. I think we welcome that challenge and we don't need to change it right now."

The Lakers did have a chance late as Kobe Bryant, who missed his first five shots from the field, had a good-look on a game-tying three with :25 seconds left and L.A. down 97-94. But the shot was long and off the back-rim. Then JET and Dirk hit their free throws (4-4), sealing the victory for the Mavericks.

Bryant was guarded mostly by the trio of DeShawn Stevenson (early), Jason Kidd (occasionally) and Shawn Marion (late) and made only nine of his 23 shot attempts. Kobe finished the game with 20 points and five boards, but scored only four points in the fourth on 2-6 shooting.

Lamar Odom led six Lakers in double-figures with 21 points off the bench, while also chipping in seven rebounds and five assists. Ron Artest scored 13 and Pau Gasol had only 11, six points less than his 17 point per game average.

"This was a big win," said Nowitzki, who has scored 30 or more points 12 times this season. "They had everybody [healthy] this time. They really embarrassed us that one time out there and then stole one here. It was big for us to tie it up at 2-2."

Strong Dallas Defense Becoming a Regularity

Six games since the trade and six straight games of under 100 point games for Mavs' opponents. Did I mention Dallas is 5-1 during the span?

Brendan Haywood led the charge (again) with five blocks, while also scoring 11 points and grabbing nine rebounds - only one board off three consecutive double-doubles. Haywood has had at least nine rebounds in a game in the last five contests.

Every Mavericks player that played in the game had at least one steal, led by Rodrigue Beaubois with two in five minutes played. The Lakers had 17 turnovers overall, thanks to the Mavs suffocating D, with Dallas scoring 25 points off of them. Dallas also out-rebounded the Lakers 41-36 and 13-7 on the offensive glass.

The six straight keeping opponents under 100 points streak is the longest such stand this season. The previous high was four consecutive between Dec. 11 and Dec. 16.

What's Next

The Mavericks travel to Atlanta, Friday night, to take on the Hawks.

Atlanta won in Dallas earlier this season, 80-75 , thanks to 31 points for Joe Johnson and some suffocating defense.

The Hawks are 36-20 this season, fourth in the Eastern Conference, and 22-6 at home which is the third-best home record in the East. They average 101.4 points (9th in the NBA) and allow only 96.9 per (11th).

Tip-off is at 6:00 p.m. and can be seen nationally on ESPN.

News and Notes:

• With Oklahoma City's loss last night to the Spurs, Dallas now has the longest current win streak in the NBA at five.
• This was the first time all season that Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry both had 30 or more points in a game. It happened only once last season, Mar. 7 2009, against the Washington Wizards. Dallas won 119-103.
  
• Jason Kidd had 14 points and 13 assists for his third double-double since the All-Star break.
  

(Portions of this article were taken from The Associated Press)

Ex-Mav Howard Done For Season

It appears as though J-Ho isn't going to be sticking it to anymore teams this season, as he now is done for the year with a torn ACL. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Well it was a good four-game run, but it's all over for former Maverick Josh Howard this season.

Howard averaged 14.5 points (on 43 percent shooting), three rebounds and one assist for the Washington Wizards, who actually went 3-1 with Howard in the lineup.

Mavs Dominate Lowly Pacers- 91-82

The Mavs held the Pacers to 37 percent shooting and never trailed. Eddie Najera is seen above swatting the ball away from Roy Hibbert (55). (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)

The final score says the Mavs won by nine, but it wasn't even that close. From 7:58 left in the third quarter on, Dallas never led by less than 11 points - until :17 left in the fourth. A Dirk Nowitzki break-away dunk (on a nice down-court pass from DeShawn Stevenson) with 7:28 left in the fourth quarter put the Mavs up 87-66 and led to some much needed rest for the Dallas starters.

No Mavericks' starter played over 33 minutes and Stevenson (23 minutes), Rodrigue Beaubois (18), and Najera (15) all got some minutes down the stretch.

While Dallas held the Pacers to only 82 points on 37 percent shooting, the Mavs weren't shooting much better at 39 percent, which led to many rebound opportunities.

"Both teams didn't shoot well, so I had a lot of opportunities to get some rebounds," said Haywood, who had 20 rebounds on the night - tying his season-high. "I was trying to attack the boards and be aggressive."

Haywood also added 13 points (3-6 shooting) and three blocks to go along with his 20 boards for his second straight double-double.

The Pacers were without their leading scorer in Danny Granger (23.3 ppg) and Nowitzki knows the Mavericks night was a little easier thanks to that.

"Granger obviously is their go-to guy, and he always makes shots, so we definitely caught a break that he wasn't there," said Nowitzki, who had a team-high 23 points on 7-14 shooting.

Only one Pacers' starter scored in double-figures (Troy Murphy with 10 on 5-15 shooting) and their leading scorer was T.J. Ford off the bench with 14 points.

Coach Unhappy With Team's Play

Although the Mavs won, coach Rick Carlise felt like Dallas could have played much better against a team as poor as the Pacers - especially without their leading scorer.

"We played a sloppy game," said Carlise. "The ball movement wasn't crisp, and we had questionable shot selection. Defensively, we had too many breakdowns. We have to get better."

After Dallas went up 90-68 with 5:54 left in the fourth, Indy went on a 14-1 run to close the game. The Mavericks were 0-9 from the field, had two turnovers and allowed the Pacers to make 5-9 shots from the field.

The Mavs bench has got to be able to hold a lead when the starters get up by 20 on an opponent over half-way through the fourth quarter. If this was the Lakers (who come to Dallas Wednesday night), they would have come back and won by 20.

Terry Gets Back On Track

After going 0-10 against the Miami Heat on Saturday night, Jason Terry put an end to his 0-fer pretty quickly, 7:29 into the first quarter to be exact.

Terry made two of his first three shots and finished with a tidy 14 points on 5-10 shooting. Not bad after one of the worst games of the guards 10-year career.

Kidd Finally Gets Some Rest

After playing at least 40 minutes in each of the past three games, Jason Kidd got a break against the Pacers. While he still played his part (10 points and seven assists), Kidd played only 28 minutes for the game and sat out the entire fourth quarter as Dallas had the game on lock.

These are the types of games the 36 year-old point guard needs more of as the Mavericks prepare for the playoffs. Kidd has played 30 minutes or less in a game only seven times this season and only three times in the past 40 games.

Hopefully this trend changes in the next two months. The more Kidd is rested come playoff-time, the better chance Dallas has of getting to the Finals. He is the engine that makes this team go, on both ends of the court.

What's Next

While Dallas didn't play as well as it should have at times, they still got the win and they still rested their veteran starters who had seen a heavy workload as of late. So, mission accomplished.

Wednesday night, the big bad Los Angeles Lakers come to town for the fourth and final meeting between these two teams this season. L.A. has a 2-1 advantage in the three meetings this season, having won at home and in Dallas. But this is a new Mavericks' team and it's going to be exciting to see how the new pieces are going to match-up against the Lakers.

Kobe Bryant (the NBA's fourth leading scorer at 28 points per game) is expected to be back in action, but the Lakers will be playing on the second night of a back-to-back after taking on the Memphis Grizzlies Tuesday night. Even without Bryant, the Lakers have won four of their past five games.

Tip-off is at 8:00 p.m. and can be seen nationally on ESPN, locally on KTXA 21.

News and Notes:

• The Mavericks have now one four straight for the third time this season. Dallas won five straight games Nov 13 through Nov 20 (Minnesota, Detroit, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Sacramento) and Dec. 8 through Dec.16 (Phoenix, Miami, Charlotte, New Orleans, Oklahoma City).
• In the 10 games before the Butler-Haywood-Stevenson trade, Dallas was 4-6 and had allowed an average of 107.1 points per game. Since the trade the Mavs are 4-1 and have allowed only 90.8 points per game against teams like Phoenix (109.2) and Orlando (101.1). Nice.