Fresh off one of the most productive weeks in his time as a member of the Dallas Mavericks, Jason Kidd beamed with pride at what his team had accomplished.

"This was a big week for us. It’s a big four wins, especially on back-to-backs," Jason said after the Mavs capped a punishing four games in five nights stretch with a 106-95 victory over the Miami Heat.

The win over the Heat capped a week in which Dallas took out the Detroit Pistons, Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Miami and hopefully saved room for some pumpkin pie.

The Mavericks are now riding a five-game winning streak and, at 12-4, sport the third best record in the Western Conference.

No. 2 was stellar over the holiday week, averaging 10.3 assists and eight points per game and continues to be an outstanding facilitator as the Mavs pile on the victories. He found every hot hand, from Caron Butler (23 points) on Saturday to Dirk Nowitzki (26) and Tyson Chandler (19) on Friday.

But No. 2 was most impressed by his team’s defensive effort. They allowed only one of their four opponents to reach more than 100 points in a game and allowed an average of 94 points per game.

The Mavs now rank in the top five in opponent points allowed and opponent field goal percentage. Jason expressed his excitement about the changes occurring in Dallas this year, as quoted by Mavs Moneyball.

"When you look back at Dallas’ teams, we never were a team that played defense," Jason said after the Mavs beat the Heat. We always wanted to outscore the opponent. I looked at the stat sheet tonight and saw that we had 87 attempts. That might be a high for the year. We’re playing defense, we’re getting stops at the right time."

FANNING THE FLAMES
In the win over Miami, Jason broke down a Heat defense that had been the strong suit for the team this season.

No. 2 put himself on the stat sheet midway through the first when he made a quick pass to Tyson Chandler on a fast break. The center finished with a lay-in to cut Miami’s lead to 10-7. With momentum the Mavs kept fighting and after two straight assists by Jason, the Mavs took the lead by one.

The game see-sawed for much of the first half, with 14 lead changes by the four-minute mark of the second. But after an early 10-0 Miami run to start the second quarter, Jason answered with a triple to start his team on their own 11-2 run and by halftime the Mavs led 51-49.

In the third Dallas took off, and No. 2 got the ball rolling by finding Chandler once again with a rocket of a chest pass, which the athletic center dunked to give Dallas the 53-49 lead. From there, the Mavs’ defense and offense worked in perfect harmony to frustrate Miami and "the big three."

Dallas started the third on a 13-0 run as Miami was stymied by the Dallas defense. The Heat started the third 0-of-10 from the field and finished the quarter with just three field goals. When the buzzer rang, Dallas had scored 31 points and the Heat had managed just 17. From there, Dallas held off Miami’s late charge to secure a win.

Jason finished with 13 dimes, eight rebounds and five points in the win.

STOPPING THE STREAKING SPURS
Whenever he steps on the basketball court, Jason has at least a few advantages over his point guard counterpart.

Whether it be his basketball acumen, his overall experience or the quality of his teammates, No. 2 can find his edge rather simply.

Against the San Antonio Spurs Friday night, J-Kidd used his size advantage on Spurs point guard Tony Parker to back the smaller point guard into the paint and drop easy lay-in after easy-lay-in.

Jason finished 5-of-9 from the field for 12 points as the Mavericks halted San Antonio’s 12-game winning streak with a 103-94 win over the Spurs.

J-Kidd got it started with just under nine minutes remaining in the first quarter when he ran the court and backed in on Parker for a nice left-handed lay-in off the glass to put his team on top 7-4.

As the first quarter progressed, Jason showcased his ball-hawking skills as he made consecutive steals that led to points and a 16-12 Mavs lead. After one, the Spurs lead was 27-24 and No. 2 had scored four points.

At halftime, the Mavs trailed by two points, but it was in the third that Jason started to drain his shots. He opened the quarter by backing Parker into the paint and hitting a nice bank shot off the glass. On the ensuing Dallas possession, No. 2 nailed a long-range bomb to give his team the 54-51 lead. Then, as the quarter was winding down, J-Kidd added another triple from the corner to halt a 6-0 Spurs run.

In the fourth, the Dallas defense took over and allowed the Spurs to score just 21 points. Dallas meanwhile scored a season-high 32 on their way to the 103-94 victory. For the season, the Mavs are allowing just 21.6 points in the fourth quarter. That number leads the NBA. Along with Jason’s 12 points, he had six assists, six rebounds and three steals.

FOLLOW THE LEADER
Jason proved throughout the week that he can score and dish on any team at will, but the Mavs will chalk up their impressive 111-101 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday to outstanding on-court leadership by No. 2.

The veteran point guard needed very little assistance from the coaching staff in getting the offense to score their highest point total of the season as coach Rick Carlisle explained:

 

"Kidd controlled the tempo — we’ve called very few plays, we’re just down playing basketball out there."

J-Kidd did what he does best and racked up 12 assists in the game to go along with eight points, two rebounds, and a steal in 36 minutes of play. It was the second straight game that No. 2 has gotten double-digit assists.

Jason put his team on top early with a long distance shot at the ten-minute mark of the first. Then, moments later, a double-teamed J-Kidd found center Tyson Chandler with a bullet to give the Mavs the 12-6 lead.

The Thunder ended the first on an 8-2 run, and the Mavs fought to keep the score close. Meanwhile, Jason continued to find his center under the hoop for the easy scores. With three minutes remaining in the half, he got the ball to Chandler, who was fouled but still finished with a slam. The three-point play pulled the Mavs to within four, 50-46.

After going into the fourth down by six, the Mavs started to heat up in the final quarter.

Jason capped a 10-0 Dallas’ run after he used his quick hands to force the steal and then find Jason Terry in transition for the triple. That play put the Mavs up 93-90 with six minutes remaining. J-Kidd added five more points in the next two minutes as he swished a jumper near the elbow on an inbounds pass and then a three pointer at the top of the arc. After Jason’s personal 5-1 run, the Mavs were up 98-93 and would not trail again.

It was the second come from behind victory for the Mavs in as many games. No. 2 was impressed by his teammates’ desire to win:

"I think everybody has experienced their individual showcase of points, rebounds, you know, stats, and I think you’ve got a group that says, ‘Hey, if I can help the team by coming off the bench, everybody gets the same ring if we can achieve that at the end.’

"You’ve got a bunch of guys who have sacrificed, but you have a bunch of guys who work hard and want to win."

ANOTHER MILESTONE
At the beginning of a grueling week, Jason reached a milestone that is a tribute to his stability and ability to grind through such stretches.

The Hall-of-Fame bound point guard is the active leader in games played and Dallas’ 88-84 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday was No. 2’s 1200th career game.

Jason put forth a solid effort in game number 1200 with 10 assists, seven points, four rebounds and a block.

Eddie Sefko, of The Dallas Morning News, marveled at J-Kidd’s ability to go out each and every night and contribute to his team’s victories with his age-defying play:

"Smart and quicker than anybody should be when they are 37. A good leader and teacher for players barely half his age. Yes, I’m a fan. His offense is down to passing and spotting up for threes. But everything he does is still a positive for this organization."

NEXT UP
After winning five straight against some of the best teams in the NBA, what is foremost in Jason’s mind heading into tonight’s contest with the Houston Rockets is staying focused and not looking ahead.

"The big thing is not to have a letdown. As a veteran team, we know that this week is over and now we have to start a new week come Monday against Houston."

The 7:30 p.m. CST tip-off will be televised nationally on NBA TV and locally on Fox Sports Southwest.

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