Jason Kidd has never been one to back away from a challenge.

He knew he and the Mavericks would have one on their hands on Monday night as they entered LA’s Staples Center for a Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals with the defending NBA champion LA Lakers.

"We’re going to have to play a perfect game to beat them," he eluded before the game. "I hope we’re up for that challenge."


J-Kidd tussles with Kobe Bryant for the ball late in the Mavericks’ Game 1 win in Los Angeles (Getty Images).

The Mavs were far from perfect, but still clawed their way back from a 16-point deficit to steal a game one victory on the Lakers’ home court, 96-94. After the game, Jason was the first to say that the Mavs’ execution was less than perfect and not even their best. But a win is a win. Now they need just three more.

"We can say that we didn’t play our best game, but we found a way to win. That’s the bottom line this time of year," J-Kidd said. "You want to be the first team to four, and we found a way to win Game 1. But again, the Lakers have been in this position a lot of times and they’ve found a way to win the series. So, we haven’t done anything yet."

The Mavs as a whole may not have put forth a perfect effort, but J-Kidd’s defense in the final minutes while guarding Kobe Bryant was just about as efficient and precise as one can offer.

Bryant poured in a game-high 36 points over the first 47 minutes of the game. But when No.2 took over defending duties in the final minute, the Lakers star was stifled. On three consecutive possessions, J-Kidd played the role of stopper for the Mavericks. It was a challenge he had asked for.

"All I know is I said, ‘I’ll guard him’ and I wanted to make it tough," he said. "I’m a competitor. And maybe being old, too, maybe I’m hard-headed and naïve enough to think I can slow him down."

Not on this night he wasn’t. On back-to-back Lakers possessions, first with the Mavs trailing by one and then with them leading by one, Jason denied Kobe his shot. The result was two straight turnovers. The first one was an errant pass by Bryant that Jason Terry picked off. The play resulted in Dallas grabbing the lead. Then, on an inbounds play with the Lakers trying to take the lead back, No. 2 stuck close to Bryant on a screen, so close that Bryant fell and Pau Gasol bobbled the handoff, which Jason seized for a steal.

"He’s one of the few guys that can put together some individual defensive possessions like that," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said of his point guard. "We try to keep him out of those situations as much as possible because they take a lot of energy. We try to get other guys guarding Bryant through the other parts of the game. Down the stretch, he’s as knowledgeable and as experienced as anybody who has ever played."

The Mavs went up by two as J-Kidd went 1-of-2 at the line. On the ensuing Lakers possession, Bryant finally got a shot off over Jason, but the long range trey wouldn’t fall.

"We knew he was coming off to get a 3,” Kidd said. "I did everything I could to not let him catch it, but he’s a great player. When he shot it, I didn’t look. I was going to listen to the crowd."

The crowd fell silent as the Mavs left Staples Center with a Game 1 victory and a 1-0 lead in the series.

PLENTY TO PRAISE
After the game, J-Kidd was a subject of praise around the NBA.

Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas was among those impressed with Jason’s effort, even if the man he guarded wouldn’t dish out some credit, as MacMahon wrote:

"Kobe Bryant scoffed when it was suggested that Jason Kidd’s defense had something to do with his clutch failure in Game 1.

‘No,’ Bryant said with a chuckle.

Kobe is kidding himself if he truly believes that. The 38-year-old Kidd deserves credit for a dominant defensive effort against one of the most dangerous scorers in NBA history in the final few minutes of the Mavericks’ stunning 96-94 win Monday night.

The Mavs don’t win this game — and make the statement that the Lakers are in for a long series — without Kidd’s guts and guile with the game on the line.

Consider the facts: The Lakers went to Bryant five times in the final three minutes. They got two points and two turnovers out of those possessions. That included the 3-pointer that bounced off the back rim at the buzzer."

Jason’s teammates and coaches were unsurprised by their floor general’s outstanding play on the defensive end of the court. Though Tyson Chandler claimed J-Kidd turned back the clock:

"That looked like a young Jason Kidd out there," Chandler said.

But No. 2 remained humble, as has been his custom throughout his hall-of-fame career. MacMahon wrote that he wasn’t buying it this time:

"With an aw-shucks tone, Kidd talked about all of Kobe’s game-winners he witnessed "up close and personal" during his days with the Suns. He said he was a "small guy" who couldn’t keep Kobe from getting his shots off. According to Kidd, all he can do is try to make it tough and hope Kobe misses.

Don’t believe a word of that. If Kidd didn’t believe he could stop Kobe, why did he request a chance to finish the job when the coaches considered giving Shawn Marion the assignment for the final possession?"

Bob Sturm of the Dallas Morning News noticed what could become a trend for the Mavericks in defending Bryant down the stretch:

I do think we should recognize Kidd’s fine work at the most high-leverage moments of the game. He is not a candidate to chase Kobe for very long, but in the final few possessions, Kidd does very well against Kobe over the last few seasons. Now, let’s be honest, Kobe still had a great look at the 3-pointer to win the game after Bynum set him free on a screen, but I do enjoy Jason Kidd muscling up on Bryant. And, maybe just maybe, Kidd gets the benefit of the doubt from the officials when he covers Kobe that Brewer or Stevenson never would. In small doses, I like what Kidd is able to do.

From the other side, Bill Plaschke of the LA Times wrote that Jason’s defensive stand was proof positive that these aren’t the "same old Mavericks:"

On a warm spring night that folks around here might regret for the rest of the summer, the Lakers suffered a 96-94 defeat to a Mavericks team that ended it by knocking Kobe Bryant on his keister.

It was the final shame. It occurred when Pau Gasol was holding the ball with the Lakers trailing by one point with about five seconds remaining. He attempted to hand it to Bryant, but Jason Kidd knocked the Lakers star to the floor, grabbed the ball, and was fouled by Gasol.

Bad call by the officials? No, smart play by Kidd. Bad move by Gasol? Yes, considering Derek Fisher was standing wide open in the corner.

After Kidd made just one of two free throws, the Lakers had one more chance to win, but Bryant’s jumper bounced off the back of the rim, finishing a late stretch that included a bad miss, a bad pass and a shot blocked.

Bryant was KOd by an older Kidd, and he stood at midcourt jumping up and down in frustration while thousands walked slowly away with their heads down as if sharing the Lakers’ embarrassment."

HE HELPS TOO
Defense wasn’t the only role Jason played in the Game 1 win, either. He was, as he always is, a great facilitator.

Before the season began the Mavs knew that they would have to spread the rock to all of their different options if they were going to be able to win.

On Monday night they did just that as Jason, who also scored seven points, made three steals and even recorded a block, handed out 11 assists on the way to helping five different Mavericks reach double-digit points.

"We got a veteran ballclub and we feel the more the ball moves we’re a little bit

[more] in a sense of a dangerous team because it just doesn’t sit on Dirk or Jet," J-Kidd said. "We’ve got guys that can put the ball in the basket and when multiple guys touch it we feel good things are going to happen."

One of the biggest factors in the win, according to head coach Rick Carlisle, was No. 2’s ability to run the floor with few plays and good pace as to not allow the Lakers defense to get set.

"The best thing is we would get stops and run and space the floor and play out of our flow game,” coach Rick Carlisle said. "We have veteran guys that understand the game, we try to play with as few plays as possible, and it facilitates better when you’re getting stops.

"If you allow them to set their defense, they’re murder to play against.”

No. 2 got the Mavs in their flow early as he fed teammates on three of four early possessions. Later in the quarter, he lined up a triple of his own from the left wing that pulled Dallas to within one, 19-18, with 3:30 to go in the quarter.

On the ensuing possession Jason found Jet Terry for another triple to give the Mavs their first lead of the game, which they would maintain until the end of the period.

It was in the second that it looked as though the Lakers would run away with the game. They took a 53-44 lead into the break and picked up right where they left off in the third, going on a 7-0 run to start the quarter and put the the Mavs behind by 16, 60-44.

COMEBACK TRAIL
Immeadiately after LA took the 16-point lead, Dallas coach Rick Carlisle took a timeout. Out of the break, the Mavs showed their grit and character.

Jason got things started with an assist to Dirk to end the Laker run. On the next possession he found big man Tyson Chandler and then, after a Shawn Marion bucket, J-Kidd drained his second triple of the game. The trey pulled the Mavs to within eight, 62-54.

Two-and-a-half minutes later, it was Jason again finding teammates as he recorded two more assists to Corey Brewer—for three—and Dirk for two that narrowed the deficit to a mere three points, 64-61.

"Character was a big factor in tonight’s game," Jason said. "We lost our composure today at the end of the second quarter, and then came out and lost the ball three straight times and found ourselves down. But everybody’s role is to keep playing and try and cut into the lead and see what happens," Kidd added.

By the end of the third, the Mavs had narrowed the Lakers’ lead to 78-71. In the fourth it was the defense that saved the day, holding Los Angeles to a mere 16 points in the period. It was capped with Jason coming up with a pivotal steal in the games final moments against Kobe Bryant. It was a play that earned the point guard "play of the game honors" over at ESPN Dallas.

"Play of the game: Kidd, who accepted the challenge of defending Bryant down the stretch, came up with one of the biggest steals of his surefire Hall of Fame career. With the Mavs up one, Kidd picked off a Pau Gasol pass intended for Bryant with 3.1 seconds remaining."

J-Kidd also added a pair of assists in the waning minutes, helping the Mavericks trim the Lakers lead from five to one as they closed the game on a 9-2 run to pull away with the win.

NEXT UP
The Mavs will have a day to adjust on Tuesday before getting right back onto the court at the Staples Center on Wednesday for Game 2. Jason, for his part, is eager for the series to continue:

"I feel great. I think both teams got a little rest, so both teams will be fresh and ready to go," he said.

Tip-off is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. CST and the game will be televised nationally on TNT.

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