After watching double-digit leads slip away in the Dallas Mavericks’ previous two games, Jason Kidd was worried it was happening again Saturday night.

"I thought it was déjà vu again."

The Mavs had built two separate 18-point leads Saturday night against the Hawks but had still been unable to put the game away, finding themselves up by one with just 15 seconds to go.

But the Mavs learned from their mistakes and pulled out a close one as they put four points on the board in the final seconds, while holding the Hawks scoreless, to win 98-93.

J-Kidd did his part to stave off the Hawks’ attempted comeback. He contributed five points, nine assists, two rebounds and a steal.

Dallas continued its proclivity for close games, which could be good experience come playoff time. The Mavs are now 4-2 in games decided by five points or less and half of their games this season have been within that five-point margin.

HELPING HAND
No. 2 started the game doing a very good job—as per usual—of distributing the ball to his teammates.

By the end of the first quarter, J-Kidd would have a hand in 12 of the team’s 28 points.

Jason got his first assist of the game by getting the ball to a cutting Caron Butler, who was fouled while sinking a hook shot. Seconds later, with the Mavs down 13-9, No. 2 drained a triple to pull Dallas within one of the lead.

With two minutes remaining in the first, Jason found center and alley-oop partner Tyson Chandler on a fast break with a high-arching lob. The big man finished with a slam, putting his team up by one and the Mavs would not trail again.

After holding the Hawks to just 18 points in the second, the Mavs continued to build their lead after halftime. J-Kidd found DeShawn Stevenson in the corner for three to give the Mavs the lead, 60-49.

The Hawks gained momentum as the third quarter came to a close. They finished the third on an 11-3 run and continued into the early moments of the fourth. After a quick 7-2 run by the Hawks to start the final quarter, the Mavs led by just four points.

But they were able to withstand the comeback and coach Rick Carlisle, who spoke to the Dallas Morning News, was happy with the way his team responded; especially after the way they had lost the lead the night before to the Bulls:

"It was a tale of two different games," coach Rick Carlisle said. "Against Atlanta, we were able to come up with the loose balls and rebounds that we couldn’t come up with against Chicago. I’m happy for the guys. They worked hard for it and it was a team win all the way."

FUELED BY J-KIDD
The short break between meeetings of the Dallas Mavericks and Southwest leading New Orleans Hornets last Monday and Wednesday did nothing to disturb Jason’s pinpoint accuracy on three-point shooting.

After hitting three straight from beyond the arc in the final quarter in Dallas’ Monday win, J-Kidd came out on Wednesday and promptly drained three of four triples in the first quarter.

No. 2 hit his first three-pointer at the nine-minute mark of the first, and moments later DeShawn Stevenson followed with another three, putting Dallas ahead 12-2. The ten-point lead was the first double-digit deficit that the Hornets had suffered in 11 consecutive regular season games.

With five minutes left in the first, Jason Terry found J-Kidd in the corner and 51 seconds later, No. 2 knocked another three down to give his team the commanding 21-12 lead. Propelled by Jason’s strong shooting, the Mavs scored 31 first quarter points. No. 2’s nine points in the opening quarter led the team.

By half, the Mavs were rolling and had built a solid 52-42 lead.

No. 2 finished Wednesday with 11 points, eight assists, four rebounds and two steals. The real story, however, has been Jason’s long distance shooting.

Over two games, facing what was then the top team in the NBA in three-point shooting defense, J-Kidd went on a two-quarter tear and hit 6-7 three-point shots. For the series, he made six of 11, an outstanding 55 percent.

But Dallas’ halftime lead evaporated in the third and Jason told Mavs Moneyball, about the team’s slow third quarter start, in which they saw their 10-point lead morph into a six-point deficit:

"The biggest thing is we sometimes might relax, and when we do that’s when we give our opponent the chance to get back in the game. As a veteran ballclub, we can’t do that. We have to be able to maintain that intensity and that tempo because we are deep and we have to use that to our advantage."

During the third, the Mavs were outscored 27-7 in the first eight minutes, and managed just 17 points.

The final quarter was a different story as Dallas fought their way back into the game. No. 2 re-entered the game with six minutes remaining and led his team back to the lead, 91-90.

Down 98-97 in the final seconds, Jason made an outstanding defensive play that would give his team the chance to win. Dallas Morning News reporter Eddie Sefko described the play:

"Jason Kidd made the defensive play of the game Wednesday night with his steal from David West and while the effort didn’t manifest itself in the form of a victory, it was the kind of moment that shows that the Mavericks have true grit.

The scene was set for an inbounds play by the Hornets with 6.7 seconds left and New Orleans up by a point. Trevor Ariza’s throw-in to West was tipped away by Kidd, who saved the ball before it went out of bounds, tapping it to J.J. Barea, who called timeout.

It gave the Mavericks life and even though they couldn’t score on the ensuing possession, they did what good teams do – gave themselves a chance to steal a win that would have been stunning."

STRUGGLE IN THE SOUTHWEST
After the intensity and toughness of the games the Mavs have played thus far, its clear that winning the Southwest Division will be no easy task, as Sefko explained:

"After two games in three days against New Orleans, the Mavericks are convinced that the Hornets are no fluke.

Just like the Spurs are no fluke, the Mavericks are no fluke and Memphis and Houston aren’t flukes.

This is the way it’s going to be this year.

Life in the ultra-competitive Western Conference is going to be a dogfight more nights than not."

Jason is confident that his team will be up to the task:

"At the end of the day, if we fight like this, we’ll win more games than we lose."

NEXT UP
The Mavs will be looking to continue their winning ways as they return home tonight to face the Detroit Pistons at the American Airlines Center.

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

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