When Jason Kidd made his first run at a NBA Championship in 2002 with the New Jersey Nets, it was Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers who derailed his championship dreams. In 2011, J-Kidd got some vengeance for that defeat.

As we continue Championship Week at JasonKidd.com, we break down the Mavericks’ sweep of the Lakers in Round 2 of the 2011 Playoffs.

Western Conference Semifinals: Los Angeles Lakers
Mavs win series 4-0
J-Kidd by the numbers: 7.8 ppg, 8.5 apg, 2 spg.

As much as Jason’s three-point shooting pushed the Mavericks to a first round victory, his defense helped them defeat the Lakers in Round 2.

J-Kidd took on the task of guarding fellow future hall-of-famer Kobe Bryant and came up with huge stops throughout the series.

"All I know is I said, ‘I’ll guard him’ and I wanted to make it tough," J-Kidd said. "I’m a competitor. And maybe being old, too, maybe I’m hard-headed and naïve enough to think I can slow him down."

In Game 1, Jason forced Bryant into consecutive turnovers in the final two minutes, allowing the Mavericks to turn a deficit into a slim lead.

Then, on the final possession of the game, J-Kidd contested a Bryant shot which would have tied the game and watched as it fell short, sending the Mavs to a victory in Los Angeles.

Defense was the name of the game again in Game 2 as Dallas held the Lakers to just 81 points on their way to a second consecutive win.

"We kept our composure, our patience and playing defense is going to win games at this time of the year," Jason said. "Right now, that’s been our focal point. There for a stretch it was 68-62

[Mavs] and we couldn’t make a shot. But, defensively, we held serve in the sense of they couldn’t score. Once we got off 68, we started to score and continued to play defense."

The Mavs rallied from behind again in Game 3, winning at home to take a commanding 3-0 lead. Two days later, Dallas delivered the knockout blow in Game 4, jumping out to a huge lead to put away LA for a series sweep.

There would be a new champion in 2011 and the Mavs were as confident as anyone that the title was theirs for the taking.

"I’ve been on the other end of a lot of losses against the Lakers and Phil [Jackson]," J-Kidd said. "So, it’s good to get a win. It doesn’t matter if you get to sweep the series or not, just to win the series and move on. This is a two-time defending champions that we beat and we have to use that experience and we can’t have a let down."

The sweep of LA booked the Mavs a week of rest before playing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals.

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