With every buzzer-beating shot, there is an equally timely assist.
As Monday’s game between the Dallas Mavericks and Milwaukee Bucks hung in the balance, tied at 113 with 3.1 seconds left, Jason Kidd pushed an inbound pass to Dirk Nowitzki, who sunk a fadeaway jumper to seal victory for Dallas.
Jason Kidd had a season-high 17 assists and came up just one point short of a triple-double in last night’s buzzer-beating win over the Milwaukee Bucks. He added 10 rebounds and 9 points in the 115-113 win.
 Jason dishing the ball to the Matrix during Monday night’s win (Getty Images). |
Head coach Rick Carlisle praised the Kidd-Nowitzki duo, as quoted in the Dallas Morning News:
"We want to get the ball to Dirk in that situation anytime we can. Kidd made a great pass, and they
[the Bucks] were draped all over him. He just hit a better and more difficult shot. That’s what great players do."J-Kidd also had praise for his teammate, as he told ESPN:
"[Dirk] made a heck of a catch and then from there he does what he does, that’s making baskets. He’s been doing it for us all season and his whole career."
MORE THAN A ‘W’
Gravity-defying jumpshots as the clock hits zero mean more than a win to J-Kidd.Buzzer-beating moments are what separate good teams from great teams, and No. 2 likes what he sees from his teammates, as he told ESPN:
"This is a big win. … We’ve given some away and tonight, it was kind of looking like that, but we stayed involved and made some plays down the stretch."
With an 8-3 record the Mavs own the second best mark in the Western Conference. They lead the Houston Rockets by a game-and-a-half in the Southwest Conference Standings.
NO. 2 MOVES UP TO NO. 6
Jason is one of the NBA’s best thieves of all-time. Last Wednesday he stole past another of the league’s great steal kings.When J-Kidd stepped on the court Wednesday night against the Spurs, he had 2,207 career steals. But by the time game ended, he had 2,209.
With those two steals, No. 2 moved up to No. 6 on the all-time steals list, passing Clyde Drexler. He is now 97 steals behind Scottie Pippen, who is No. 5 on the list.
But the all-time great thieves aren’t the only record holders Jason is chasing. He has already collected 75 assists this season and is nipping at Mark Jackson’s heels on the all-time assist list, just 60 behind. Jackson holds the No. 2 spot with 10,274 career assists.
As well as taking the No. 6 all-time steals spot from Clyde the Glide, J-Kidd added nine assists, six rebounds and five points in the 92-83 loss to San Antonio.
TAMING THE TIMBERWOLVES
Following their in-state loss to San Antonio Wednesday, J-Kidd and the Mavericks recovered quickly to tame the Minnesota Timberwolves 89-77 Friday night.Although the Mavs won, Jason knew it wasn’t their best game. He told the Fort Worth Star Telegram how he felt about his team’s performance.
"We didn’t play well at all and we still found a way to win. It’s good to get back on the winning ways after a disappointing loss in San Antonio. We got some stops even though in the first half we couldn’t make a play or hit a shot."
No. 2 racked up seven rebounds, six points, six assists and a steal in the win.
NEXT UP
J-Kidd and the Mavs head back to Dallas to face the San Antonio Spurs tomorrow night at 8:30 on KTXA.
RELATED STORIES
Nowitzki’s ‘lucky’ bounce lifts Dallas Mavericks in OT (Dallas Morning News, Nov. 17, 2009)
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/basketball/mavs/stories/111709dnspomavslede.2c3834515.html
Nowitzki, Kidd help Mavericks hold off Bucks in OT (ESPN.com, Nov. 17, 2009)
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=291116015
Mavericks at Bucks Boxscore (NBA.com, Nov. 17, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20091116/DALMIL/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0020900149
Dallas Mavericks will take ugly victory (Star Telegram, Nov. 13, 2009)
http://www.star-telegram.com/287/story/1761438.html
NBA all-time leaders (ESPN.com, Nov. 15, 2009)
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/alltime/leaders?cat=steals
Mavericks at Spurs Boxscore (NBA.com, Nov. 15, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20091111/DALSAS/boxscore.html
Mavericks at Timberwolves Boxscore (NBA.com, Nov. 15, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20091113/DALMIN/boxscore.html