The ghosts of Los Angeles trips past meant nothing to Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks over Halloween weekend. They made history when they swept the Lakers and the Clippers back-to-back, something they had never done before.
The Mavs, clad in their new alternate road jerseys, beat the Lakers 94-80 Friday night and edged the Clippers 93-84 Saturday night.
 Jason using the Force against the Clippers. He finished with 10 assists (Getty Images). |
A beaming J-Kidd told the Dallas Morning News how he felt after beating the defending champs.
“This is the team we’re supposed to be. That one the other day was the different one.”
He went on to talk about the significance of beating Kobe and the Lakers.
“You hate to say it after one game, but this was a character game. With the expectations and the way we felt about that game at home, this was something that was almost a must-win. Hard to say Game 2 is a must win, but character-wise, we needed it.”
Head coach Rick Carlisle agreed with J-Kidd in an interview with the Associated Press.
“There was no letdown. Our concentration and our attitude was great coming into this game. Our guys knew that this was going to be a tough game. Look, it’s hard to win in this place, whether we’re playing the Lakers or the Clippers. To get out of here with two is an accomplishment.”
DEALING DIMES
The character win over the Lakers also showed LA J-Kidd’s true character as a leader. As good as he is at scoring, No. 2 has become an expert at sharing the ball with his teammates. The veteran scored two points against the Lakers but racked up a team-high 11 assists, 9 more than any of his teammates. He also chipped in 4 boards and a steal in the 94-80 victory.
The Clippers game was no different, as Kidd had another team-high 10 assists. He also added 3 points and steals and 6 rebounds in the 93-84 win. J-Kidd and the Mavs held both the Lakers and the Clippers to shooting just 41%, a defensive feat J-Kidd has bee waiting to achieve.
DAPPER DEFENSE
The Mavs, a predominantly offense-driven team, have been working hard all season to become more balanced. J-Kidd and his teammates held the Clippers to shooting 1-9 in the third quarter and forced four turnovers to seal the victory. The Mavs held the Clippers to only one basket in the last 7 minutes of the game.
No. 2 knows the importance of defense. As he told the Associated Press:
“We felt like we just had to come out with some energy and keep ourselves in the game. We did that in the first half, then we got the lead in the third quarter. We couldn’t score there for a while in the fourth, but we found out last night that we can play defense, and that carried over to tonight.”
NEXT UP
J-Kidd and the Mavs are looking to keep up their winning streak and win at home against the Utah Jazz Nov. 3 at 7:30 p.m. on FSNSW.
RELATED STORIES
Dallas Mavericks put clamps on Lakers at Staples Center (Dallas Morning News, Oct. 31, 2009) http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/stories/103109dnspomavs.26c32d761.html
Mavericks at Lakers Boxscore (NBA.com, Oct. 30, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20091030/DALLAL/boxscore.html
Mavericks at Clippers Boxscore (NBA.com, Oct. 31, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20091031/DALLAC/boxscore.html
Mavericks beat 0-4 Clippers 93-84 (Chron.com, Nov. 1, 2009)
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/sports/6697295.html
Dallas Mavericks make history with sweep in LA (Star-Telegram, Nov. 1, 2009)
http://www.star-telegram.com/287/story/1727223.html