For Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks, tonight represents a chance to make a statement against one of the league’s best.

The Mavericks host the defending Eastern Conference Champion Boston Celtics at American Airlines Center with an opportunity to bounce back from a tough Saturday night loss to the Denver Nuggets.

Jason racked up a strong plus/minus rating of 16 on Saturday, illustrating the positive effect he has on the Mavericks’ offense. He finished the game with eight points, going 2-4 from beyond the arc with five rebounds and seven assists.

But all the Mavericks will have to play well on both ends of the court—and avoid the problems that led to their 103-92 loss—in order to defeat the 6-1 Celtics. Coach Rick Carlisle explained to Mavs.com reporter Earl K. Snead what the Mavs need to improve on.

"The key with us is that we’ve got to be a precise team at both ends of the court and we have to do everything at a high level," Carlisle said. “That puts us in a category of being a contending team. When we have big breakdowns in any area it’s gonna really hurt our game."

A little Jason will go a long way in helping the Mavs avoid the “big breakdowns.” With Kidd out on the court Saturday for part two of the Dallas-Denver home-and-home series, Dallas was solid both offensively and defensively.

And after taking their first game against the Nuggets on Wednesday, Dallas opened the second meeting in similarly positive fashion.

The Mavs jumped out to an early 17-13 lead after a 12-3 run that began with an assist from No. 2 to teammate Jason Terry for three easy points. But Dallas turnovers allowed the Nuggets to claw their way back to take the lead by the end of the first, 29-24.

After watching the Mavs bench score just five points in the nine minutes he sat, J-Kidd re-entered the game with six minutes remaining in the half and his team down 10. Immediately, Jason nailed a three-pointer to steal back the momentum. Dallas finished the half on a 9-3 run, and pulled to within one, 53-52.

Dallas came out strong against an increasingly aggressive Nuggets’ defense in the third quarter. After tying the game at 55 in the opening minutes of the third, Dallas went on an 11-2 run to take the 68-62 lead with six minutes remaining.

But the Nuggets got hot from three and Dallas struggled to recover. In the second half alone, Denver hit seven of 12 from beyond the arc and they finished the game with 13 triples. Meanwhile, the Mavs turned the ball over 11 times in the final half and 21 times overall.

"Thirteen threes and we turned it over 21 times — it is going to be a losing formula, Carlisle told Mavs Moneyball. "Fortunately, they only had 13 points off of those turnovers, or otherwise it would have been a worse outcome. But, look, we have to be strong with the ball, more discreet with the ball and our execution is going to have to be better. It is as simple as that."

NEXT UP
In the next two months, J-Kidd and the Mavs will have plenty of opportunities to improve on their 1-2 record at home. They get their first chance on Monday night, as they take on the Boston Celtics.

Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 CST and the game will be televised locally on Fox Sports Southwest.

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