With their veteran point guard having played in every game of a grueling season, the Mavericks opted to give Jason Kidd two games of well-deserved rest last week.

"It was a much-needed break. We had a game plan going into the season, so coach executed the game plan…I’m happy to get back playing with the guys," Jason told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "I would take a break somewhere at the end of the season to get ready for the playoffs. So overall the schedule fit perfect to look at having almost a whole week off."

Upon his return to the lineup on Sunday night against the Phoenix Suns, two things were clear: No. 2’s legs were fresh and his Mavericks were very glad to have the future hall-of-famer running the offense once again.

"Jason comes back

[Saturday] and he practices, and again he has a pep in his step," Jason Terry said. "When you see your leader out there with that image and that enthusiasm, everybody feeds of it."

Jason commented that he indeed felt a boost of energy heading into Sunday’s game.

"I feel fresh, I feel great," he said. "Everything is healed and ready to go. Guys were teasing me that I was a new player today."

Led by J-Kidd, the Mavs’ offense was blistering. They poured in a season-high 36 points in the first quarter alone. The defense made all that scoring stand up as it allowed the Suns to score just 39 points in the entire first half, building a 26-point halftime lead. The Mavs carried that early edge to a 115-90 victory.

The victory put the Mavs in a tie with the Los Angeles Lakers for second place in the Western Conference with two games to play.

After the game, Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle credited J-Kidd for the fast start that led Dallas to the blowout win.

"He just played his normal game, ran the team, distributed the ball, hit open shots, was in the middle of a lot of positive plays," Carlisle said. "It makes a difference when he’s out there, for sure."

With No. 2 creating open looks, Dallas shot an incredible 50.6 percent from the field, including 40.7 percent from beyond the arc on the night. But Jason did what he does best and dished the credit to his teammates:

"As the new player (back in the lineup), that was my job, to get off to a good start," he said. "For me it was to be able to push the ball, get guys open shots and go from there. I’m just happy to have a job."

In 28 minutes, J-Kidd finished the game with seven points, seven assists, three steals, two rebounds and was an outstanding +14 in point differential for the game.

With Jason at the helm, the Mavs couldn’t be stopped. They jumped out to a 15-4 lead within the first two minutes of the game and when J-Kidd dished to Shawn Marion for an easy layup, the rout was on.

With just under five minutes remaining, Jason made a nifty steal on Steve Nash and finished with a layup of his own to give Dallas a 25-11 lead. It was, according to ESPN Dallas’ Tim MacMahon, the play of the game:

"Play of the game: After a couple games worth of rest and relaxation, Jason Kidd looked refreshed. That was clear when he used quick hands to steal a Steve Nash pass, pushed the ball in transition and finished with a layup. When Kidd goes to the rack, you know his legs feel fresh."

But Jason wasn’t finished yet.

A minute later he drained a triple from the left wing. He immediately followed that with an assist to Peja Stojakovic to give the Mavs a commanding 15-point lead with two and a half minutes remaining in the first. By the end of the opening quarter Dallas led, 36-17. By half the advantage was 65-39 Mavs.

Midway through the third period with the Suns managing to cut the deficit ever so slightly, Jason immediately got to work on increasing the lead once again.

He found Marion and Brendan Haywood for easy buckets on back-to-back possessions and then hit a long jumper just inside the arc at the 2:10-mark to put the Mavs up 23 points, 80-57. At the end of the third, with the Mavericks firmly in control, No. 2 checked out of the game and called it a day, his work on another Dallas win well done.

DOWN TO THE WIRE
With just two games remaining, the Mavs and Lakers are in a dead heat for second place in the Western Conference.

Jason spoke to Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas and noted that the Mavs can only worry about their own games and let the chips fall where they may from there:

"Kidd said he’s not scoreboard watching to determine when he sits.

"Right now we can only take care of ourselves," Kidd said. "For us we can’t worry about [seeds] six through eight and we can’t look at two. We can’t worry about looking to see what the Lakers are doing because…if they win out, they’re still No. 2."

"For us," Kidd said, "we want to take care of business and make sure that we’re ready."

A veteran of playoff basketball, No. 2 is well aware of how hectic the final week of the season can be in terms of seeding:

"It’s going to go down to the last game," Jason Kidd said. "I think we’ve all been in this position that that last game means somebody moves up, moves down, you kind of determine who you play. Going into that New Orleans game, we’ll see if we have that option. You’ve got two through eight [seeds] that can move in these last three games."

Right now, J-Kidd said the Mavericks are feeling good about themselves, which is just as important come postseason.

"Everybody’s upbeat," Kidd said. "We’d like to get ready mentally and physically for the playoffs."

But while No. 2 and the Mavs focus on themselves, David Moore of the Dallas Morning News broke down the race for second-place:

"Oklahoma City’s win over the LA Lakers tonight did two things from a Mavericks perspective.

One: it kept the Mavericks alive in the race for the No. 2 seed.

Two: it kept the Thunder on their heels and increases the possibility that they can all wind up at No. 4.

The Lakers and Mavericks are tied in the standings with two games left. Oklahoma City is one game back. Both teams own a tiebreaker edge over the Mavericks. That puts them at a disadvantage. But they’re still in the mix.

The stage is set for a wild finish. Here is what all three teams face.

The Mavericks: at Houston and home vs. New Orleans.

The Lakers: home vs. San Antonio and at Sacramento.

The Thunder: at Sacramento and home vs. Milwaukee."

NEXT UP
Jason expects to get one more game off before his team begins their playoff run and there is a chance that he will sit tonight against the Houston Rockets.

Jason, for his part, would like to play mostly because he doesn’t feel he exerted all of his energy on Sunday, due to the blowout nature of Dallas’ win over Phoenix.

"We’ll talk about it," Kidd said. "The plan was maybe to sit tomorrow, but I don’t think I got enough work in."

With or without him, the Mavs can get a big leg up on the idle Lakers with a victory tonight.

Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. CST and the game will be televised locally on Fox Sports Southwest.

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