There was plenty to overcome for the New York Knicks to keep their undefeated home record intact on Saturday.


When his shot wasn’t falling early, Jason found other ways to make a meaningful impact with rebounding and passing (Getty Images).

Playmaker Carmelo Anthony was out with a sprained ankle suffered in Thursday’s win over the Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers were in town led by their own playmaker, Kyrie Irving, who seemingly couldn’t miss.

To boot, Jason Kidd was having trouble with his shot and missed eight of his first nine attempts. But as he usually does, Jason found other ways to impact the game. No. 5 gelled his Knicks team together and connected on crucial plays in the fourth quarter to seal the deal.

Behind Jason’s nine points, eight assists, six rebounds and two blocks, the Knicks were able to maintain their undefeated home record despite a career high 41-point performance by Irving, in a 103-102 victory Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Afterward, Knicks coach Mike Woodson was effusive in his praise of No. 5.

"He’s been the glue," Woodson said of J-Kidd.


Knicks coach Mike Woodson discusses a play with his glue guy, guard Jason Kidd (Getty Images).

Jason played his role to perfection in the absence of Anthony, finding Tyson Chandler on back-to-back plays in the early stages of the fourth quarter to give the Knicks a lead. He knew that on a rough shooting start he had to rely on his instincts to corral his squad against the offensive tirade orchestrated by Kyrie Irving.

"I was just trying to find the open guy, help my teammates rebound the ball and get some easy baskets," Jason said. "The game is not always about scoring."

J-Kidd found his shooting rhythm in the fourth and connected from downtown with 8:30 left in the game to give the Knicks a comfortable 10-point lead. That cushion would quickly evaporate when Irving rattled off 17 points in the final quarter.

However, No. 5 was on the counter attack and knocked down a three-pointer of his own with 3:40 to go. Then, with 40 seconds left, the team’s "glue" found a cutting Tyson Chandler who drew a foul. After hitting both of his free throws, the Knicks held a four-point lead eventually en route to their tenth straight home victory.

"Jason Kidd has been huge all year," Chandler said. "Not only what he does on the court, what he does in the locker room, what he brings to film, He’s just a coach on the basketball court and he’s invaluable."

While he admitted that earlier in his career he would have pulled the plug on a poor shooting night, Jason knew that his team needed him to connect on easy shots, so he remained involved in the offense.

"If I was young maybe I would have stopped shooting, but understanding that I needed to make a couple shots to help my teammates out, and I did," he said in his postgame. All I can do is miss it again. Coach drew up a play for me to trail the three at the top of the key and he said to knock it down. Coach has confidence in me and my teammates kept telling me to keep shooting."

Although J-Kidd has been able to hone his three-point shooting for the Knicks this season, his impact by simply being on the floor was irreplaceable Saturday night.

"He can go 0-for-whatever every night," Steve Novak said. "Just to have him on the floor is so valuable."

"That’s what J-Kidd do," Raymond Felton said. "He’s, in my opinion, one of the best point guards to ever play this game and should be a Hall of Famer when he retires. I’m not surprised at all, I just love to watch it."

Saturday night’s game proved J-Kidd’s impact is invaluable, whether he’s shooting or not. The box score doesn’t always tell the full story, and that certainly was the case against the Cavaliers. Afterward, he deflected credit to his teammates for putting the ball in the basket when he couldn’t.

"The guys fought," Jason said. "It wasn’t pretty but we got the win."

NEXT UP
The Knicks (18-5) will be back on the Garden floor Monday night when they welcome former Knick turned foe Jeremy Lin and the Houston Rockets to town.

A milestone is also on the horizon for J-Kidd this week as he has the chance to surpass Gary Payton for eighth place on the All-Time Games Played list. Jason currently stands at 1,334 games played and will tie Payton with a start against the Rockets.

Monday night’s game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and will be televised locally on MSG and nationally on NBATV.

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