Up just five with two minutes to go, there were no guarantees the Dallas Mavericks would be able to extend their nine-game winning streak to ten against the visiting Golden State Warriors.

Enter Jason Kidd.

The Mavs were looking to make it a three-posession game, as Jason took the ball up court and the clock wound inside a minute. After he assessed the defense, J-Kidd dished off to Jason Terry down in the corner. But rather than launch a three, the Jet faked a shot and sent a chest pass back to Jason, who was waiting at the top of the arc. Without hesitation, No. 2 launched a high-arching triple with a defender in his face that hit nothing but net. 

The three put a dagger into the heart of any Golden State comeback hopes and gave the Mavs an insurmountable eight-point lead with 31 seconds left. They would go on to win 105-100.

J-Kidd’s clutch trey wasn’t a surprise to his teammates, especially during the Mavs’ current ten-game winning streak. As center Tyson Chandler pointed out, No. 2 has done it all to help Dallas keep winning:

"J-Kidd, he surprises me all the time. He keeps digging into that tank and pulling out tricks. One night he’s making every single pass. (In Utah), he’s making every single three. (Against Sacramento), he’s making every single defensive play. The guy’s amazing."

The triple was Jason’s lone basket of the night after he spent the rest of the game getting the ball to his teammates, who shot a solid 44.8 percent from the field. No. 2 finished with seven assists, four rebounds and two steals.

After the Warriors started the first quarter by hitting seven of their first 12 shots, J-Kidd made a nifty steal and then dropped a pass to Terry on the two-on-one fast break, which Jet finished to even the score at 17. By the end of the first, the Mavs led 27-26 despite Golden State shooting nearly 50 percent from the field.

The game continued to go back-and-forth with ten lead changes in the first quarter alone. J-Kidd upped that number to 16 at the end of the half with an all-out effort play that led to two Mavericks points.

The play started when Jason sprinted towards the announcer’s table to scoop up a loose rebound. No. 2 grabbed the ball just in time and, as he sent a long pass to a waiting Jason Terry under the Golden State hoop, J-Kidd’s momentum propelled him into the table. All was well, though; Terry made the lay-in, Jason was fine and the Mavs led 50-48 at half.

The Mavs, however, could not rest comfortably, as the third quarter saw five more lead changes and by the end of the frame Golden State had pulled ahead by one.

Whereas being down after three quarters does not bode well for the majority of teams in the NBA—they win just about 20 percent of the time when that happens—the Mavs have made it a habit of finishing games strong.

The lead volleyed back and forth early in the fourth as well, but offensive rebounding and a couple of Golden State turnovers helped the Mavs establish a lead midway through the quarter that they kept for the duration on the way to the win. The Mavericks are now 5-1 on the year when trailing after three.

Prior to the game, Jason spoke to the Dallas Morning News and told them he expected a tough matchup where rebounding and ball protection would be at a premium:

"They’re an explosive offensive team, and they also get their hands on a lot of balls," Kidd said. "We’ve got to take care of the ball. But we’ve got to play team defense, got to help each other out and make them take tough shots and limit them to one shot."

The Mavs did solid work on both fronts. They allowed the Warriors just 13 offensive boards and actually out-stole the NBA’s leading thieves.

A PIVOTAL NIGHT IN ATLANTA
At 17-4 this season and sporting a 10-game winning streak that has them just a half game back of the NBA’s best record, the Dallas Mavericks are riding high.

But things weren’t so swell less than three weeks ago. After a Friday night loss in Chicago, the Mavs found themselves with a 7-4 record and losers of two straight, heading to Atlanta for the second night of a back-to-back. Jason told ESPN Dallas that late November night was the defining moment thus far in the Mavs’ season.

"I thought that, losing two in a row, going to Atlanta was a big game for us," Jason said. "We get in at 4 o’clock in the morning, back-to-back against a talented team. I think we all knew what was at stake, that you don’t want to lose three in a row, and the schedule wasn’t getting any easier."

The Mavericks snapped their losing streak that night behind nine assists from No. 2 and have not looked back, as he told ESPN Dallas:

"I think that was a turning point for us," Kidd said. "The season is a rollercoaster in the sense you fight to be consistent. There’s going to be a time when you’re up and a time when you’re down. What can you do to minimize your time when you’re down?"

BUSY HOMESTAND
Tuesday’s win over the Warriors was the first of six straight games at the American Airlines Center.

Despite being home for approximately two weeks, J-Kidd doesn’t expect to get much time to think about anything other than basketball as Jeff Miller of the Dallas Morning News explains:

"If there is a leaky faucet in the house that needs fixing or some touch-up painting that has gone undone during the first six weeks of the NBA season, Jason Kidd probably won’t get to it anytime soon, even though the Mavericks won’t leave town again until Dec. 19.

"Maybe a little shopping for Christmas," Kidd said of his off-court to-do list during a six-game homestand that begins tonight with the Golden State Warriors. "We need to focus on the six games that we have."

For No. 2, protecting Dallas’ home court throughout the season is pivotal:

"If you’re going to be an elite team in this league, you’ve got to protect home."

Jason and the Mavs are 9-3 on their home floor and will try to protect their court once again on Thursday night when they face the New Jersey Nets (6-16, 2-10 Away) at 7:30 p.m. CST. The matchup will be televised on Fox Sports Southwest.

RELATED STORIES