Even one of the toughest road trips an NBA team can make couldn’t slow Jason Kidd and the rolling Dallas Mavericks.

Jason and his teammates finished a grueling two-night swing through Florida on Tuesday with a 105-99 win over the Orlando Magic.

J-Kidd, who flirted with a triple-double and finished the game with his 479th career double-double (13 points, 12 assists, six rebounds and a steal), was thrilled with the way his team handled the competition:

"It’s huge," said Kidd of hitting the Miami-Orlando exacta. "To come into Florida and win both games in 24 hours, that’s a nice way to go into this break."

The win over Orlando was Dallas’ fourth straight, all over 2010 playoff teams, and their 16th victory in 17 games. The last two of that stretch came against a pair of teams that, like the Mavs, are expected to compete for an NBA title.

On Monday, No. 2 and the Mavericks entered Florida and took out the Heat. By Tuesday night, they were headed back to Dallas with a Florida sweep under their belt. Dallas Morning News reporter Eddie Sefko described the trip:

"They overran a new-look Orlando Magic team Tuesday night with terrific balance led by Caron Butler’s 20 points and Jason Kidd’s superb floor game to secure a 105-99 win over the Magic at Amway Center.

Combined with Monday’s win at Miami, the Mavericks joined Utah as the only teams to sweep Florida this season."

POINT MAN
On Tuesday night in Orlando, Jason found the absolute perfect balance between scoring and dishing to keep the Magic completely off balance.

No. 2 played over 30 minutes for the second straight night and Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News believes that coach Rick Carlisle’s ability to limit Jason’s minutes in other games, combined with the scorching play of his backup JJ Barea, have left Jason fresh for big minutes in big games:

That is the sort of back-to-back playing time that he hasn’t had very often this season. But because of sensible playing time up to now, it means Kidd is capable of putting in bigger minutes with less of a fatigue factor on occasion.

For the year, he continues to average less than 33 minutes per game, a huge improvement on the 36 minutes he averaged last season.

The reduced minutes, made possible because J.J. Barea has done a solid job running the team for longer stretches, are going to serve Kidd well down the line. And in tough matches like the last two games, it allows Kidd to air out his court time to whatever is needed, knowing that it’s not going to happen every night.

Dallas needed all Jason could give on Tuesday and he happily obliged.

After getting the Mavs going on their opening possession, by finding DeShawn Stevenson for the quick triple, No. 2 drained his own trey at the seven-minute mark to extend Dallas’ lead to 15-6.

The veteran point guard found Stevenson for three a minute and a half later and then, seemingly for repetition’s sake, he nailed another 3-pointer of his own to give the Mavs a 27-16 lead. After one, Jason already had six points, three rebounds and two assists and the Mavs led 27-21.

As the half neared its finish, the Magic had pulled to within six, but J-Kidd wasn’t about to watch the Mavs let the game get away.

His dishes found teammates Tyson Chandler, Shawn Marion and Caron Butler, respectively, on three-straight possessions, to give the Mavs a seven-point lead with just a minute remaining before the break.

With J-Kidd guiding the offense, the Mavs put on a 3-point shooting show throughout the game. They finished by hitting 12 triples and shooting 46.2 percent from beyond the arc. In the third, Jason facilitated the vast majority of the shooting and had a hand in 20 of the Mavs’ 27 points.

First he found Butler for three, then he hit one of his own; then he found Butler again, followed by Stevenson once more. By the end of the third, Dallas led 76-71 and six Mavs’ players would have double-digit points.

SECRET TO SUCCESS
At the end of the night, Jason had found five different teammates with assists, including Stevenson four times and Butler thrice. He assisted on five of Dallas’ 12 threes and made three more of his own.

Jason was typically humble after the game as he talked about his teammates talent and the trust they have in one another, as quoted by Earl K. Sneed of Mavs Fastbreak:

"It just shows the depth of this team and the talent. I think the biggest thing is we believe in one another," Kidd said. "No matter who’s taking the shots in the first quarter or who’s taking the shots in the fourth quarter, we’re just trying to make the right plays on the offensive end."

But as a player that’s played with Jason in two different cities with a great deal of success, Mavs teammate Shawn Marion gives Jason plenty of credit for the way the team is playing, as he told HoopsWorld:

"Jason Kidd is a master of the game," Marion said. "He’s the definition of a point guard. He doesn’t hold it too long, he play both ends of the floor, and he may not be able to shut down people for the full time of the game like he used to, but he comes out in that last three minutes or so and he’s going to lock up.

"I played with him

[Marion’s first two years in Phoenix] when he’d pressure you full court, and then get right back the other way full court. He can’t do that anymore, but at the same time he’s learned how to be so dynamic and so creative on the floor that he knows when it’s his chance to do certain things and he takes advantage of it to the fullest. People should really look at how he’s an all-around point guard. He plays both ends of the floor, he can post up, he can shoot the three, he can come off pick-and-rolls, and he’s one of the best transition point guards in the league – still, right now."

In the fourth, the Mavs dropped 29 points, including two clutch free throws by Jason, with less than three minutes left in the game, to give Dallas a 95-86 lead that they would use to secure the victory.

With the win, Dallas improved to 11-0 when scoring 100 points and they now own the NBA’s best record (4-0) on the second night of back-to-back games.

Heading into an abnormally long holiday break, Coach Carlisle couldn’t have asked for a better result: 

"It was an important game for us. We wanted to get momentum heading into this break, so we’re happy," Carlisle concluded.

NEXT UP
Jason and the Mavs get to spend the holiday with their families and they don’t return to action until Monday, December 27th.

Then it’s back to the Western Conference as they’ll take on Oklahoma City at 7:00 p.m. CST on Fox Sports Southwest.

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