Slow starts haven’t been a common thread for Jason Kidd and the Dallas Mavericks this season.

But they knew that they were off to one on Monday night when they trailed the Washington Wizards by nine points, 32-23, early in the second period.

It was at that point that head coach Rick Carlisle called a timeout and let the team know how he felt. According to Jason, it was a wake-up call.

"He got upset, but I think he got his point across," J-Kidd said. "We came out a little sluggish, but we played through it."

The coach’s comments kick-started the Mavs, who played much better basketball from that point on and went on to win the game, 102-92.

J-Kidd did just about everything to make that happen as he finished just short of another triple-double, scoring 11 points to go along with 11 assists, nine rebounds, a steal and a block. Rob Mahoney of The Two Man Game, noted the excellent ball movement No. 2 displayed throughout the game:

"Dallas’ ball movement was certainly notable. The Mavs assisted on 27 of their 34 field goal attempts, and Jason Kidd and Jason Terry combined for 19 dimes between them. This was really one of those holistic concepts, though; the ball movement around the perimeter was fantastic, and virtually every Maverick was giving up good shots for better ones. Kidd and Terry were particularly brilliant, but the entire team deserves credit for forcing the Wizards to commit and then exploiting their rotations."

Jason had three of his 11 assists in the first quarter, but it was when he re-entered the game, shortly after Carlisle’s talk, that J-Kidd turned it up a notch, getting his teammates the ball in order to cut the deficit.

First he found Shawn Marion, who finished with a runner, then he hit Brian Cardinal in the corner for three. Later he fed 7-foot-1 center Tyson Chandler for a two-handed slam.

The jam, whcih you can see here cut the Mavs deficit to two and ESPN Dallas’ Tim MacMahon named the dish the play of the game:

"Play of the game: Yes, it’s another Kidd-to-Chandler highlight. This one came in transition late in the first half, when Kidd stopped at the free throw line and pitched it to Chandler as he blew by on the left. The big man, sprinting full speed when he caught the ball, took one step and launched from the dotted line. He flushed it with two hands and did a chin-up on the rim, awakening the AAC crowd."

The teams exchanged fruitless possessions as the clock ticked inside a minute to go in the half, but it was then that Jason took matters into his own hands. No. 2 nailed a three on the right wing with 30 seconds left in the half to give the Mavs a 48-47 lead, their first since late in the first quarter.

All told, the hall-of-fame point guard had a hand in 10 of the Mavs’ final 12 points in the last four minutes of the first half and they took a one-point lead into the locker room.

By the end of the third, the Mavs had pushed their lead to 74-68, but the margin was still a little too close for comfort. Washington pulled within four late in the fourth and Dallas allowed them to hang around until No. 2 drained a triple, his third of the game, with 49 seconds left in regulation to push the advantage to eight points, 100-92.

He added a pair of free throws with under 30 seconds to go, capping off his stellar night and the Mavericks’ victory.

The win was the Mavs’ fifth in a row and allowed them to sweep their four-game homestand. It also pushed their record to 32-15, just a half game behind the Los Angeles Lakers for second in the Western Conference.

WALL AND HIS WIZARDS
After the game, Jason had nothing but praise for the Wizards, who remain winless on the road this season.

"They’ve got some talented guys that know how to play and can put the ball in the basket," J-Kidd said. "We made them take tough shots and gave up some offensive rebounds that we didn’t want to, but we got some great looks on the offensive end. This is a tough team to play, no matter what they’re record is, they come out and play hard."

He was particulaly complimentary of Washington rookie John Wall, the first overall draft pick, who had 17 points and 10 assists for Washington in their loss.

"He is talented and he understands how to play," No. 2 said. "As a rookie it’s a lot to ask for. But he’s doing quite well with it."

But Jason, who was a top pick himself (No. 2 overall in 1994), and entered the league as a point guard pinned with high expectations, also had some advice for the young Wizard, as he told the Sacramento Bee:

"You’re not going to come in quietly and surprise anybody," he said. "You’re on the radar, and it’s kind of a platform. "Do you accept that challenge, or do you want to shy away from it? I think he’s a guy that has accepted that challenge and has done quite well."

SUPER PICK
It’s that time of year and as the Mavericks depart town on a road trip which will take them away from Big D this week, the Super Bowl and all its festivities will be coming in.

With that in mind, the conversation turned to Super Bowl picks in the locker room and Jason, quarterback of the Mavs, went with a signal-caller who also went to the University of California.

"I’m hoping that

[Packers quarterback] Aaron Rodgers has a great game, being a guy who went to Cal," J-Kidd told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "So I’m cheering for him."

NEXT UP
Jason and the Mavs will look to make it six-straight wins on Wednesday night.

But they’ll have to do it away from the friendly confines of the American Airlines Center as they travel to New York to take on the Knicks at Madison Square Garden in what is the first game of a three-stop road trip.

Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CST and the game will be televised locally on Fox Sports Southwest.

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