Jason Kidd’s 40-foot three-pointer at the third quarter buzzer came a split second too late on Wednesday night, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t turn heads.

Jason’s precision from beyond the arc has been one of the biggest stories of the NBA season and although his rainbow against the Bulls didn’t count, it was still cause for applause. Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle has watched Jason’s transformation into a clutch three-point shooter and couldn’t be happier, as he told the Star Telegram.

"He’s been great," Carlisle said. "The way our team is structured, he gets in situations where those shots are there and he’s done a great job knocking them in."

At 42 percent from beyond the arc, No. 2 is a constant threat to put it down from deep. He recently passed his career high in triples with more than 15 games left in the season. He’s currently shooting seven percent better from the land of three than his career average.

J-Kidd credits shooting coach Bob Thate for his picture-perfect shot. The two have been working together since Jason played for the New Jersey Nets. He told the Star Telegram what he’s been doing to light it up from downtown.

"I’ve worked on just keeping my arm up. It used to be kind of like a slingshot, where I would just flick it," Kidd said. "Now I try to leave my arm up. Sometimes I still drop it, old habit, but just try to get the ball up higher so it has a higher arc. It has paid off."

It didn’t pay three points at the buzzer on Wednesday, but the Mavericks didn’t need it in a 113-96 win over Chicago.

REST FOR THE WEARY
After going hard at the Bulls for 24 minutes, J-Kidd sat out the fourth quarter of last night’s win over the Bulls.

Carlisle told DallasBasketball.com that hsi point guard deserved some rest and with the playoffs drawing closer, the coach was happy to oblige.

"He’s had some soreness (in his knees) the last couple days, and about a minute or two into the fourth he asked if he could ice down."

Dirk Nowitzki jokingly agreed with his coach that Jason was most deserving of the rest.

"[Kidd] is a fossil, so he definitely needed (rest) the most."

With his 37th birthday right around the corner, No. 2 has been hearing a lot about his age. While critics are worrying about how old he is, his only concern is pushing deep into the playoffs, as he told the Star Telegram.

"With my birthday coming up, I’m used to hearing the old comments," Kidd said, laughing. "But the big thing is this is a critical time for us with the season coming to an end, and you want to be healthy."

NEXT UP
A healthy and well-rested No. 2 leads the Mavs into battle against the Boston Celtics Saturday night. Tip-off scheduled for 8 p.m. CST on Comcast Sports Net.

RELATED STORIES
Jason Kidd’s 3-point shooting hits the target (Star Telegram, March 18, 2010)
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/03/17/2048301/jason-kidds-3-point-shooting-hits.html
Mask or no mask, Mavs’ ‘Jeti’ ready to shoot (Star Telegram, March 18, 2010)
http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/03/16/2045451/mask-or-no-mask-mavs-jeti-ready.html
Kidd’s request for rest granted (ESPN.com, March 17, 2010)
http://www.dallasbasketball.com/fullColumn.php?id=2744
Bulls at Mavericks Boxscore (NBA.com, March 18, 2010)
http://www.nba.com/games/20100317/CHIDAL/gameinfo.html?ls=gt2hp0020901011