While he’s primarily known these days as a pass-first point guard, J-Kidd is ready to shoot when called on — just as he did during Dallas’ 99-94 victory over the New York Knicks on Thursday night.

Jason bodies up against New York’s Nate Robinson (Getty Images).

His effort came on the heels of a poor shooting performance against the Los Angeles Clippers a game before, but as No. 2 explained, one bad night out can’t effect how you think about scoring.

“You have to erase your floppy disc and become a shooter I had some great looks that didn’t go in, but guys kept telling me to keep shooting.”

Teammate Dirk Nowitzki added:

“(Kidd) made a couple tough shots there. They basically left him alone all night. He knocked some shots down for us.”

Jason had 16 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in the win, the Mavericks’ 12th in 14 games. He went 6-15 from the floor, making more shots than he had since Dallas’ Dec. 9 double-overtime thriller against San Antonio.

JASON: A FUTURE KNICK?
Jason played well amid trade talk. When Jason becomes a free agent next year, he has entertained the idea of finishing out his career in New York. Jason was quoted by Newsday.com:

“Yeah, why not? I’m going to look and see. Coach

[ Mike D’Antoni] is great. I got to know him a little bit this summer … He has a great philosophy and I think people enjoy watching that. Even though they haven’t put up enough wins, they competed every night. That’s one of the differences in Knick teams of the past; they come to play every night.”

At this point, however, New York will have to lure Jason away; Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has expressed interest in keeping No. 2 for the 2009-2010 season.

NEXT UP
Tonight Dallas travels to take on Phoenix (19-13) at 9:30pm. The game is on ESPN.

RELATED ARTICLES
Madison Square Garden growing in Jason Kidd’s free agency plans (NY Daily News, Jan. 9th, 2009)
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/2009/01/08/2009-01-08_madison_square_garden_growing_in_jason_k-1.html
Kidd future Knick? (Newsday.com, Jan. 9th, 2009)
http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/ny-spkside095992318jan09,0,3045832.story
Knicks Show Personality, but Fall to the Mavericks (New York Times, Jan. 8th, 2009)
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/sports/basketball/09knicks.html?_r=1&ref=sports