Jason Kidd has proven time and again that when needed, he can score for the Mavericks as well as he can assist.
J-Kidd collected his fifth 20-point game of the season, but even that wasn’t enough to keep the Mavericks afloat in a 121-116 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday night.
No. 2 told DallasBasketball.com that stellar individual performances have gone overlooked in the shadow of defeat.
"I think we’re more frustrated with the way we’ve been playing as a team," Kidd said. "Some great individual performances have gone to waste in a sense."
J-Kidd pulled out every trick from his sleeve – he nailed longshots with impeccable accuracy, drove through the lane for quick layups, defied gravity with his floating jumpshot and showed the crowd that, even at 37, he can perfectly execute a turnaround fade away.
No. 2 finished the night with 24 points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals. Despite his solid performance, Jason can’t help but feel frustrated about the Mavericks’ untimely slump with only a handful of games remaining in the regular season, as he told the Star Telegram.
"It’s not that we don’t have talent," Kidd said. "We’re one of the deepest teams in the league. I think we all have to take this nice little break that we have and figure out who we want to be. And that’s sad to say with only five games left."
The slump also hasn’t helped Dallas’ positioning in the race for the Western Conference’s second seed. Once thought to be the runaway favorite to follow the Lakers in seeding, the Mavs are now locked in a four-way tie with the Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets and Phoenix Suns, all with identical 50-27 records.
Jason knows the Mavericks need to put winning above everything else if they want to grab it.
"It’s up for grabs,’’ he said. "We’d like to win them all and see what happens then. But if not, championship teams find a way to win on the road. It’s been proven. You look at the last couple of championship teams, they’ve found a way to win on the road."
NEXT UP
The Mavericks have a few days to rest up and prepare for the final five games of the regular season. They hit the hardwood again at American Airlines Center on Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. CST on KTXA.
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