At this point in the career of Jason Kidd, nearly every game marks the nearing or passing of an all-time milestone.

On Sunday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, Jason moved up another list, one that had an extra special meaning to him. With his swipe of Grizzlies center Marc Gasol just two minutes into the opening quarter on Sunday, Jason passed his friend and mentor Gary Payton for third on the NBA’s all-time steals list.

The steal was number 2,446 of J-Kidd’s illustiorus career and passing Payton had plenty of meaning for No. 2, as he told Dallas Basketball:

“In this league he was known as a thief, a guy that disrupted a lot of offensive sets," Jason said. "I don’t think I’ll pass him in points, so I’m glad I could pass him in something.”

J-Kidd finished the night with a pair of steals, putting him at 2,447, but the celebration would have to wait. Despite holding a lead of as many as 18 points in the first half, Dallas couldn’t close the deal on their ninth straight win on Sunday.

A last second jumper by Memphis’ Zach Randolph topped one just moments earlier by Dirk Nowitzki and the Grizzlies topped the Mavs, 104-103.

"You’ve got to play 48 minutes, and we didn’t do that tonight," Jason said after the game. "So it’s a lesson learned. We’ve got to treasure those leads. For us it’s just something that we’ve got to concentrate on our defensive assignments and make sure we play better team defense."

But according to ESPN Dallas, despite the loss, Dallas remains one of the very best at winning close games. Over the past three seasons, their record is an outstanding 28-10 in games decided by fewer than three points.In fact, the Mavs have won 18 of their past 20 games and both of the losses came after buzzer-beating shots.

In the end it was Dallas’ defense that did them in once again on Sunday. After surging out to a a big lead, the Mavs allowed 41 points in the third quarter.

Jason told ESPN Dallas’  Tim MacMahon that at this point in the game the standings don’t matter; how the Mavs play defense does:

“Jason Kidd doesn’t care about the Western Conference standings.

He knows the Mavericks will qualify for the playoffs. He isn’t concerned about their seed. His primary focus is on making sure the Mavs peak for the postseason.

“We have to take care of our own work and not worry about what San Antonio, the Lakers or Oklahoma City is doing,” Kidd said. “We’ve got to look at our own work and make sure that we’re playing our best basketball come the end of next month.”

The Mavs have won 17 of the last 18 games, but Kidd sees plenty of room for improvement, pointing to the defensive end of the floor. Dallas has allowed 98.4 points per game over that stretch, an increase of about three points per game from their previous average.

"We’ve been still winning," Kidd said, "but we’ve got to address that if we want to have any chance of winning in the playoffs."

RHYTHM WITH RODDY
There were some positives to take from Sunday’s game and one of the biggest was the development of Jason’s rhythm with fellow guard Roddy Beaubois.

To start Sunday’s game, J-Kidd found Beaubois early and often. No. 2 opened the game with a feed to the 23-year-old guard, who knocked down a triple for the Mavs’ first points of the night. Minutes later it was Roddy to Jason as J-Kidd nailed a jumper in the low post, which built the Mavs’ lead to 15-9 midway through the first. Beaubois finished the quarter with 12 points and the one assist.

With a minute remaining in the quarter, No. 2 found Jason Terry, who let fly a trey from the left wing to put the Mavs on top by six, 27-21 By half the Mavs held a commanding lead, 55-38. Along with the two steals, Jason dished six assists, scored four points and grabbed three rebounds in the loss.  

CLUTCH AT THE LINE
The Mavs’ struggle to close on Sunday came in stark contrast to their performance in a win over the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

In the fourth quarter, with his team leading by eight points and two minutes remaining in the game, Jason nailed 6-of-6 free throws to seal the Mavs’ seventh-straight victory, 116-108.

Head coach Rick Carlisle wasn’t surprised that Jason, an 89 percent shooter from the line this season, would hit those shots when it mattered most:

“

[Terry] and Dirk are the second-most prolific fourth quarter duo in the game, and so they are both great. Kidd hit big free throws down the stretch. We have three of the best closers in the game. We have to do it with a certain kind of balance and I thought we did what we had to do tonight. Those three guys are going to give you the best chance possible.”

The free throws capped an outstanding game for J-Kidd, who scored 15 points to go along with six rebounds, five assists and a steal.

No. 2 opened the game on a tear, knocking down three huge three-pointers to give his team a 35-33 lead after one. By the end of the first half, the Mavs had netted a season-high in points—with Jason playing a big part of the offensive onslaught.

The fluidity of the Mavs’ offense prompted ESPN Dallas’ Tim MacMahon to write:

“The Mavericks’ offense is a thing of beauty these days. You won’t find a better blend of balance and ball movement in the NBA right now. The Mavs have scored at least 100 in 16 of the last 17 games and are well on their way to blowing by that mark after their highest-scoring half of the season. 

Mavs 68, Pacers 57.

Seven Dallas players scored at least five points. Four have at least nine. A pair are in double figures, with Dirk Nowitzki dropping 16 points on 5-of-5 shooting and Rodrigue Beaubois bouncing back from a rough road trip with 13 points on 6-of-11 shooting. But the most impressive stat — and perhaps the best evidence of the Mavs’ chemistry and unselfishness — is their assist total. They’ve dropped 18 dimes on 26 baskets.”

Jason Terry told the Fort Worth Star Telegram that the buck stops at J-Kidd as far as credit for the Mavs’ success on offense goes:

"When you have Jason Kidd it’s no question that he sets the tone," Terry said. "He’s the facilitator, he’s the guy that will come out early and get four assists from four different guys.

"And when that happens that means the ball is spreading around — kind of like a quarterback. When a quarterback is hitting all his receivers, then everybody feels involved."

The Mavericks carried the latest offensive outburst to their eighth straight win.

NEXT UP
Jason and the Mavs will try to begin a new win streak tonight when they travel to Minnesota to take on the Timberwolves.

Dallas still holds the West’s second best record at 45-17. But with the Lakers breathing down their necks, Jason knows these final 20 games are important for his team:

"You play these next 20-something games out and you put yourself in a position to have the highest seed. So we have to take care of our own work and not worry about what San Antonio or the Lakers or Oklahoma City is doing. We’ve got to look at what we’re doing and make sure that we’re healthy and playing our best basketball coming into next month.”

Tonight’s game in Minnesota tips off at 7 p.m. CST will be aired locally on Fox Sports Southwest.  

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