No. 2 and company let out a long sigh of relief Thursday night after they clinched a playoff berth with a last-second win.
After being on the losing side of so many close games, Jason shut down Utah’s Deron Williams in the closing minutes, then set up teammate Dirk Nowitzki for the winning three-point shot with .9 seconds remaining, vaulting the Mavs to a 97-94 victory.
Jason turned in a gutsy performance, and not all of it translated to the box score. He finished the game with seven points, six rebounds and seven assists in 35 minutes of play.
WE BELIEVE
A close win over a playoff team may be just what J- Kidd and the Mavs needed heading into the playoffs. After facing “We Believe” signs and shirts in a raucous Oracle Arena last post season, No. 2 used the same language when speaking about the growing connection between himself and his new Mavericks teammates:
“I think we believe. We could have easily said, ‘Hey, it’s just not our year.’ Or, ‘We’ve been in so many close games. It’s just not going to happen.’ But I think we’ve learned from those losses. This is a veteran group. We learned, and we pushed forward. We were in a lot of close ones, and now maybe it’s starting to turn in our favor."
STARTERS, STARTING
With a playoff berth clinched, Johnson quickly washed away the notion of sitting J-Kidd and the rest of his starters down the stretch.
The Star-Telegram caught up with coach Johnson to ask him how he will handle his injured stars with a playoff berth already in hand.
“I’d like to play everybody the rest of the year, even if it’s 18 or 22 minutes,” he said
NEXT UP
No. 2, and the Mavs (50-29) head to Portland (39-39) Saturday. The game will tip at 7:00pm PST.
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