Jason Kidd did everything he could to keep the Dallas Mavericks’ win streak alive on Monday night.

But all good things must come to an end.

Despite J-Kidd’s near triple-double and a furious Mavericks comeback attempt in the final minutes, the Milwaukee Bucks halted the Dallas winning streak at 12, 103-99.

J-Kidd was outstanding all game and by the end of the first quarter he was on triple-double watch with four rebounds, four points and four assists. At game’s end, No. 2 managed to nab his second double-double of the season, falling three rebounds shy of the magnificent triple-double.

All told, Jason finished with 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting to go along with 10 assists and seven rebounds. It was J-Kidd’s 478th career double-double, good for fourth best among active players.

J-Kidd’s stellar opening quarter helped put the Mavs ahead 25-15 and Dallas continued to build the lead. With just five minutes remaining in the half, they grabbed their biggest edge and found themselves up 42-22 as the break approached.

Milwaukee trimmed the lead, but with under a minute to go in the second quarter, Jason drove into the lane and went up for the lay-in.

Instead of putting up a shot with big man Andrew Bogut in his face, however, No. 2 made an incredible, mid-air, behind the back, no-look feed to Tyson Chandler. The Dallas center finished with a slam and gave the Mavs the 52-38 edge. They led 52-43 at the half.

The Bucks went on an 18-8 run to start the second and took a 61-60 lead at the midway point of the third. Mavs coach Rick Carlisle told reporters after the game that it was clear at that point that there was work to be done:

"We’re not where we need to be yet. We’re trying to be a great team and take care of home court. Having a ‘take-care-of-business’ mentality is really important. We have yet to establish that on a consistent basis and so there’s going to be frustration until we get there. Look, we have work to do, it’s as simple as that."

Jason re-entered the game with five-and-a-half remaining in the fourth and provided a spark that helped the Mavs go on a quick 8-2 run. During the run, J-Kidd hit a huge shot from beyond the arc. Moments later he came up with a pivotal steal that led to a Jason Terry three in the corner to pull the Mavs within three, 99-96. But Milwaukee held off the charge and sank crucial free throws clinch the victory. Despite the loss, Carlisle remains very optimistic about the Mavs’ season thus far:

"I still have a great belief in our team, and I know what our potential is.”

NOT ABOUT THE STATS
Prior to the game, J-Kidd sat down with Bucks point guard Brandon Jennings to impart some knowledge on the young player.

Jennings spoke to Fox Sports about the meeting and the great respect he has for No. 2:

"He’s a good friend of mine," Jennings said. "Some things he told me about being successful in the NBA and just being successful in this business, he said it’s not all about stats and what types of numbers you put up. It’s all about if you can get wins in this business.

"That really had me thinking a little bit. He was watching a special on ’60 Minutes’ where the owner from the Dallas Cowboys said it doesn’t matter what your stats are. Jason Kidd was saying you can go 1-for-10, as long as you’re getting wins and getting it done, maybe that’s the best thing for the team."

TITLE BOUND?
Monday’s loss put an end to a 12-game Dallas winning streak, but Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas explains why that might not be such a bad thing:

"Armed with information from the tireless folks at the Elias Sports Bureau, Scott Randall of ESPN Stats and Research followed the dots after the Milwaukee Bucks ended the Dallas Mavericks’ 12-game win streak Monday night and found a pot of gold that might interest the Mavs.

Monday was the fifth time in team history that the Bucks have ended a winning streak of at least 12 games. The most famous instance was when Milwaukee ended the Los Angeles Lakers’ NBA-record 33-game winning streak on Jan. 9, 1972. The Bucks also ended 12-plus game streaks by the Celtics (1973 -12), 76ers (1983 – 14) and Spurs (2007 – 13).

What do all four teams have in common?

They all went on to win the NBA title that same season."

NEXT UP
Jason and the Mavs will look to start a new streak and reassert home dominance tonight when they welcome the Portland Trail Blazers to Dallas.

Tip-off is set for 8:30 p.m. CST and the nationally televised game can be seen on ESPN, or locally on Fox Sports Southwest.

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