The night started off with Jason jamming his thumb during warmups, and that might have been the highlight of the evening.
Dallas’ winning streak ended Thursday night against the Jazz in a tough 115-87 loss, the Mavs’ offense stalling for the first time since Jason acquired the play calling duties.
J-Kidd was obviously ailing throughout the game from his pre-game injury, which entailed catching a ball awkwardly that caused his thumb to bleed.
As Jason told the Star-Telegram about his inauspicious beginning:
“Not the way you want to start a game.”
That, coupled with Dallas missing 14 of its first 18 shots, allowed the Jazz to jump on the Mavs early. Jason’s beautiful lobs to Dampier and Hollins were the only thing that gave Mavs fans something to cheer about in a first half that saw their team shoot 39% from the field.
J.Kidd, who finished the game with a solid effort of 7 points, 8 assists, and a steal, talked with ESPN about what went wrong.
“We just didn’t play any defense. We have to address the fact that even if we aren’t making baskets we can still be productive on the defensive end.”
WEEK IN REVIEW
The Mavs went on a winning streak due to Jason taking over the play calling duties that caused their offense to become much faster paced. If you missed Jason in action, here’s what happened:
2.02.2009 | Jason, Mavs Cruise to Win
Jason put on a show as his team-high 11 assists led the Mavs past the Miami heat.2.04.2009 | Change has Come
After a stellar road trip that saw the Mavs beat the Heat and the Magic, Coach Carlisle reveals that Jason Kidd has taken over the play calling duties for the Mavs offense.2.05.2009 | All-Time Great
In a victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, Jason Kidd moved past Oscar Robinson to become the 4th leading assist man in NBA history.
NEXT UP
The Mavs look to rebound against the Chicago Bulls Saturday at 6:30 pm.
RELATED STORIES
Mavericks 87, Jazz 115 (ESPN.com, Feb. 5th, 2009)
http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=290205026
Jazz does a number on Dallas Mavericks 115-87 (Star-Telegram, Feb. 6th, 2009)
http://www.star-telegram.com/287/story/1188410.html
Williams scores 34, dishes 12 assists as Jazz rout Mavericks (ESPN.com, Feb. 5th, 2009)
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=290205026&campaign=rsssrch&source=jason+kidd