Jason Kidd’s finest quality as an NBA floor general is his ability to assess a situation and give it what is needed.

Often times, that is a crisp pass to a waiting teammate who knocks down the shot. In fact recently, that was all Jason had been doing. Over six Mavericks games headed into Sunday, J-Kidd was averaging nearly 10 assists per game while taking fewer shots and averaging just 4.3 points per game.

But with Dallas knotted in a 83-83 tie against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday night, Jason stepped up and took the big shots himself. No. 2 knocked down back-to-back threes to give the Mavs an 89-83 lead, then added a pair of free throws down the stretch.

Those eight points were the last scored by either team as J-Kidd’s self-sustained 8-0 run pushed Dallas to a 91-83 win. No. 2 finished with 16 points on 5-of-8 from the field and added three assists and two rebounds.

"This guy is a great winner," Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle said. "When he steps on the floor, he’s going to do things that help you win. Trying to quantify what stats are going to equal wins with him, it just doesn’t work. Forget about scoring and shooting percentages and all that stuff.”

Jason said after the win that he will do whatever it takes to help his teammates get the win. If that means scoring, he’ll score. If it means setting his teammates up—as it does more often than not—then that’s what he’ll do.

"It’s a double-edged sword," Kidd said. "My job is to set the table. I could be selfish and shoot 10 to 15 times and get my 12 to 15 points, but that’s not the makeup of this team. We have too many guys that can put the ball in the basket. My job is to knock down open shots….On one side of the coin, yes, it does help my teammates, but on the other side my job is to pass the ball and get them going."

The victory was number four-in-a-row for the Mavs, who have started a six-game road trip with back-to-back wins.

SUNDAY SHOOTER
Sunday’s game-ending 8-0 run was part of a 10-point fourth quarter for No. 2:

His first bucket of the quarter also broke a tie. With the game knotted at 77 points and just seven minutes remaining, Jason received a pass from Jason Terry just inside the three-point line. No. 2 let fly with a long jumper that found the net to give his team a two-point lead.

Then, with just 1:37 remaining in the game and the score tied at 83, J-Kidd beat the shot clock for what would be the game-winning triple.

"J.J.

[Barea] got me the ball with one second on the shot clock, so that was good because I didn’t have time to think about it," No. 2 said. "I just took my time and it went in, that’s all."

Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas dubbed the first of back-to-back treys as the play of the game.

"Play of the game: With the Mavs scrambling to get off a shot and the score tied at 83-83, the ball found its way to Kidd behind the 3-point arc. He got the shot off just before the buzzer, with both feet behind the 3-point arc, and he swished it to put Dallas ahead, 86-83, with 1:11 to go. Phoenix would not score again."

No. 2 wasn’t quite finished. After hitting that trey he went on to score the Mavs next five points—including one more triple—to seal the victory over Phoenix.

"The second one I was shooting it all the way if Dirk was going to give it to me," J-Kidd said. "I was just hoping he was going to give me the ball and give me that opportunity and that’s what he’s been doing all season, trusting his teammates."

Coach Rick Carlisle couldn’t say enough about his veteran point guard and was particularly impressed with Jason’s tie-breaking triple:

"It just goes to show you how close the game was, because that first 3 he hit beat the clock by maybe a hundredth of a second," Carlisle said. "And his level of concentration to step into that shot and hit all net is phenomenal.

"And then the other one Dirk just got in a bad way, he circled around and gave [Kidd] an outlet, and there’s no tougher shot in basketball than a 3-point shot if you’re right-handed moving to your left and circling around. I mean, it’s just very difficult. So, it was two phenomenal shots and then we got a couple of big stops at the end which got us home."

BACK ON DEFENSE
While Jason’s shots were the difference on the scoreboard, No. 2 was quick to point out that the Mavs had to show up on defense to make them stand up.

"We made big shots but the big thing is we played defense down the stretch which gave us that opportunity to make shots down the stretch," he said.

Over the weekend in wins over Phoenix (91-83) and Utah (94-77), two teams that average 100-plus points per game, Dallas allowed an average of just 80 points. J-Kidd was especially happy with the Mavs’ outstanding defense, which has recently reestablished itself as a force to be reckoned with.

"We’re back to where we started where we were playing pretty good defense," No. 2 said. "Then we went through a lapse where we were just going to outscore people. You go through those during a season. But we understand what it takes to win a championship. The past champions, they all play good defense. Sometimes it’s not going to be pretty, but if you hold teams to 83, you’re going to win a lot of games."

Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas put those numbers, and the Mavs’ recent defensive resurgence, into perpective:

"Our team defense, down the stretch, you know, this is the way we were playing early in the season, these last couple of games defensively," Jason Kidd said. "And that helps us offensively."

In the last five games, Dallas has not allowed more than 97 points after surrendering an average of 102.4 over the previous 17 games.

During this five-game window, the Mavs held the Suns and Jazz below their scoring averages by more than 20 points, and the Golden State Warriors to 30 points below their average. Go ahead and throw in the Timberwolves as failing to hit their season average by five points as well as the San Antonio Spurs missing their season scoring average by six points.

In three of their last four games, Dallas has given up 73, 77 and 83 points. On this road trip, the Jazz and Suns combined for 64 second-half points."

Jason said high-level defense directly correlates to postseason success:

"Our defense has won us games all year and we’re getting close to the next season so we’re tightening up our defense," he said. "Make or miss, you have to be able to play defense in the playoffs."

DALLAS GUARD TRIO
Throughout the season, the Mavericks have mixed up their line-up more than any other team of their caliber.

With their offense stagnant for most of the night, coach Rick Carlisle decided to go back to his ace in the hole: the three guard lineup.

In came the three J’s (J-Kidd, Jason Terry and JJ Barea) and the Mavericks ran with it.

"Nothing else was working….so you just keep trying different things. It was something we hadn’t done in the game and the extra playmaker was good, it brought more quickness," Carlisle said. "We were searching for a group that could get some traction," Carlisle said. "And the group that finished the game was awesome. Jet made two or three huge offensive plays. Defensively we scrambled and got stops and run-outs, and our balance was really good."

Center Tyson Chandler said the three guard lineup works on both sides of the ball, with defense creating offense.

"Just the quickness of those three guys being able to switch," Chandler said, "and you have guards that play really gritty, they get in there and help box out, crash the boards and then from that we’re able to get out and run and break, so it helps us out on offense."

After trailing for most of the game, the Mavs pulled away in the fourth, outscoring the Jazz 36-17 on the way to a 94-77 win.

"We’re a veteran ballclub and we understand that, again, we put ourselves in that position by turning the ball over," said J-Kidd, who finished with seven points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals. "But, once we took care of the ball and got shots, we started to push forward and got a little breathing room."

NEXT UP
Dallas continues its trip westward this week for a back-to-back in Hollywood.

The Mavs take on the LA Clippers on Wednesday at the Staples Center and are right back there Thursday night to take on the Lakers.

Wednesday’s tip-off with the Clips is set for 9:30 p.m. CST and the game can be viewed locally on Fox Sports Southwest.

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