Jason rediscovered his shooting touch from downtown on Monday, hitting six of eight threes to help Dallas snap a four-game road losing streak.
The Mavericks relied on Jason to shoulder the offensive load, which he did admirably in Monday’s 95-93 victory over the 76ers. Topping the 20-point mark for the first time since Dec. 9th, Jason kept the Mavericks in a tight ball game with his 3-point shooting.
J. Kidd finished a stellar game with 22 points, a team-high 12 boards, and 6 assists. He talked with NBA.com about sticking with his shot:
“They’re going to give me 3-point shots. I haven’t been making many, but I’ve been staying with it.’‘
The game came down to the final moments after the 76ers scored 12 straight points to fight back into the game. With 4.3 seconds left, Nowitzki received the inbounds pass and even with Reggie Evans all over him, he easily shot over Evans to hit the winning shot.
Jason talked with NBA.com about Nowitzki’s game-winning bucket:
“It’s easy to get it to him because he’s seven feet. He’s done it all year. He’s an All-Star and an MVP and he enjoys these moments.’’
BIG IN THE THIRD
Trailing 55-47 with 8:58 remaining in the 3rd quarter, Jason lead the Mavs on a 19-4 run over the next 6 minutes to give them a fairly comfortable lead.
During that key stretch, J. Kidd scored 11 points, including three 3-pointers to give the Mavs a 66-59 edge. By the end of the third quarter, the Mavs were up 11 with Jason and Nowitzki combining for 25 of their 32 points.
As Coach Carlisle told the Star-Telegram:
“Kidd was sensational!”
NEXT UP
The Mavs continue their road trip in Milwaukee Wednesday night at 6 pm.
RELATED STORIES
Mavericks at 76ers Boxscore (NBA.com, Jan. 19th, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20090119/DALPHI/boxscore.html
Nowitzki hits game-winner as Mavs beat 76ers 95-93 (NBA.com, Jan. 19th, 2009)
http://www.nba.com/games/20090119/DALPHI/recap.html
Dirk Nowitzki’s last shot proves his best as Mavericks edge Sixers (Star-Telegram, Jan. 20th, 2009)
http://www.star-telegram.com/nbainsider/story/1152701.html