The Dallas Mavericks are a consistent threat to take aim from long range.
Led by Jason Kidd, who sits at number three all-time in 3-pointers made, Dallas currently houses three of the top eight long-distance shooters in the history of the NBA.
Jason and his fellow three-point aces were at it again against their instate rival the Houston Rockets on Saturday night. No. 2 hit 50 percent of his triples on his way to 11 points to go along with five assists, three rebounds and two steals to lead the Mavs to a 106-102 win.
Bryan Gutierrez of Mavs Moneyball put Dallas’ long-range prowess in perspective:
"The Mavericks went 8-15 from three-point range. Dallas has now hit a three-pointer in an NBA-record 992 consecutive games. It is hard to imagine that the streak will end anytime soon with the league’s third (Jason Kidd) and fourth (Peja Stojakovic) best three-point shooters of All-Time on the squad. Jason Terry is also in the mix as he is ranked eighth in that department."
With their long-range game cooking, the Mavs have their offense back at full throttle. They have scored 100 points in 10 of their last 11 games and in the process, improved their record to 27-2 when they pass the century mark on the scoreboard.
J-Kidd has been a big part of the recent offensive surge. The veteran point guard is averaging 11 points, six assists and six rebounds over the past five games. Along with those outstanding numbers, Jason has shot an exceptional 47-percent from beyond the arc.
It took some time for the Mavs’ defense to get going on Saturday, but the offense kept humming right along. To get the scoring started, Jason fed Tyson Chandler for a layup that gave the Mavs an early 2-0 lead. Just over five minutes later J-Kidd netted his first points with a layup that knotted the score at 10 points apiece. Dallas nailed 47 percent of its attempts during the first quarter, but they still found themselves trailing the Rockets by two after the first buzzer.
In the second, both the offense and the defense were clicking as the Mavs exploded for 34 points while holding the Rockets to a mere 19 for the period. By half Dallas’ advantage was 13 points, 57-44. The outburst was highlighted by an alley-oop from J-Kidd to Chandler that was so thrilling, one Mavs fan lost control, as Gutierrez explains:
The pick-and-roll was in full effect in the first half, many of them led to alley-oop dunks. There was one dunk that got a Mavs fan so excited that he jumped out of his seat and accidentally spilled beer onto the court. The situation led to a minor delay in the game. Tyson Chandler was credited two points off an alley-oop attempt from Jason Kidd.
Dallas continued to increase its lead in the third. Jason found Dirk Nowitzki at the top of the arc for a triple and moments later No. 2 hit one from the nearly the same spot himself to push the lead to 72-49 with 10 minutes remaining in the period.
During the final three minutes of the third, J-Kidd found new teammate Peja Stojakovic for a pair of triples and then added one more of his own to make it 83-67 with a period to go. Jason noted that adding another precision shooter from long-range like Stojakovic changes the game for the Mavs:
"That’s an added dimension that we’ve been missing, and it just makes us deeper and stronger," he said. "As long as he keeps making them, he can pass me (on the All-Time list). I’m just happy to be in the top five."
Houston pulled to within five points late in the fourth, but a layup and a late free throw from J-Kidd gave Dallas the breathing room needed to carry out a victory.
NEXT UP
No. 2 and the Mavs get a well-deserved break until Wednesday when they play host to the Sacramento Kings.
Dallas will be looking for the season sweep of the Kings, following up a 105-103 win in Sacramento on December 4th. J-Kidd has eight points, five rebounds and five assists in the Mavs’ victory. Wednesday’s tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. CST and the game can be seen on Fox Sports Southwest.
RELATED STORIES