It has been a season of milestones for Jason Kidd and his latest achievement is one of the most impressive yet.

On Wednesday night, Jason drained four three-pointers to pass Peja Stojakovic and then Dale Ellis and move into third place on the all-time made three-pointer list with 1,722. He now trails only two men, two of the NBA’s most prolific three-point shooters ever, Ray Allen and Reggie Miller.

Jason, who hit a blistering 57 percent from beyond the arc in the 102-89 loss to the Indiana Pacers, wasn’t as much interested in the record as he was the fact that his shots are starting to fall with greater frequency:

"The big thing is I’m starting to hit shots," he said. "This is a good time to start making shots and help my teammates out as much as possible."

The milestone triple came on a routine trip down the floor. Early in the third quarter, after a rebound by Alexis Ajinca, No. 2 took the ball up the court.

Jason then started to drive into the paint, but pulled up and dished out to Ajinca behind the arc. As Ajinca drove and found the paint too clogged, Jason moved out beyond the arc and received a return pass from the starting small forward. Without hesitation No. 2 went up with the shot and drained it from 25-feet out.

With his shot locked in, J-Kidd did all he could on Wednesday night as the Mavs dropped their third straight. He stuffed the stat sheet, scoring 13 points to go along with seven assists, three rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

Though they are owners of a sub-.500 record, Jason wasn’t surprised by the Pacers’ solid play and views them as a team on the rise:

"They’ve got a lot of young talent," he said. "They’ve got a good coach. This is a great basketball city and as time will push forward they can be an elite team once again."

Defensive pressure controlled the game early and both teams were low on the scoreboard. With just over two minutes remaining in the first half, No. 2 hit his first trey of the night to tie the game at 43. Indiana took a three-point lead in the final minute, but J-Kidd assists to Jason Terry and—with merely six seconds left on the clock—DeShawn Stevenson, helped the Mavs to knot the score at 52 at the halftime buzzer.

The Mavs kept pace in the third thanks to four assists and the milestone triple by No. 2. In the final frame Jason hit two more triples, the second of which pulled Dallas to within six points, 93-87, with less than four minutes remaining. But the Mavs couldn’t finish off the comeback.

"We couldn’t make shots when we needed it. And on the other side we couldn’t get stops when we needed it," J-Kidd told Mavs Moneyball. "That’s a bad combination. The Pacers made shots. They moved the ball and they got big scores when they needed them, especially in the fourth quarter. So, they were the better team tonight."

Nonetheless, the season still has a long way to go and neither Jason, nor his teammates, are panicking about the recent stretch:

"We are all professionals. We are a veteran ball club. No one in this room is panicking," No. 2 said after the game. "We just have to be patient and wait for

[Dirk] to get back. No one likes to talk about it. The fact is he draws so much attention when he is out on the floor that we all get better looks because of it. Also, his offense helps our defense tremendously.

"The bigger picture is it will just make us a better team when he does get back because we’re getting a lot of shots that are contested, and when he’s on the floor, we get wide-open looks. It will just make us a better team when he does get back. Right now, we’re not making as many shots with him not on the floor."

NEXT UP
Jason and the Mavs have a golden opportunity to get back on track tonight, as they travel to San Antonio to take on the Spurs, owners of the Western Conference’s best record thus far.

In his last game against San Antonio, No. 2 was his vintage best. He tallied 12 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds for his 106th career triple double. The Mavs are 1-1 against San Antonio this season and J-Kidd is averaging 12 points, 9.5 assists and eight rebounds per game against the Spurs.

Friday’s tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m. CST and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN and locally on Fox Sports Southwest.

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