Entering the final game of the 2010-2011 season on Wednesday night, Jason Kidd could feel his three-point shot smoothing out.

Despite going 0-of-5 from three in a Monday night win over the Rockets, Jason was confident in his shot, as he told Jeff Caplan of ESPN Dallas:

"It looks great," Kidd said. "In and out, you can’t do anything. The first one was long and a couple of them were in and out. You learn really quickly as a shooter that those are fine, those are OK misses. You can live with those, so we’ll just keep shooting."

Keep shooting is just what Jason did and thanks to No. 2’s four threes in the season finale on Wednesday, the Mavericks locked up the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference with a 121-89 win over the New Orleans Hornets.

No. 2 couldn’t have ended the season on a much higher note. He went 4-of-6 from beyond the arc for all 12 of his points to go along with eight assists, four steals and three rebounds in the win.

Tim MacMahon of ESPN Dallas praised the future hall-of-famer’s three-point shooting as a key to the game.

"Play of the game: Pick a 3-pointer by Jason Kidd. He made 4-of-6, including a pair on back-to-back possessions late in the third quarter to stretch Dallas’ lead to double digits. That’s significant because Kidd had been in an awful shooting slump. He made only one of his 20 3-point attempts in the previous four games he played this month."

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle knew it was a matter of time for J-Kidd and had faith in the veteran point guard:

"I think he’s fine," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "I like the way he stepped into it

[Monday]. Two or three of them were in and out. He’s just got to keep doing what he’s been doing his whole career, keep being aggressive."

No. 2 also knows what his success does for the rest of the team, as he told ESPN Dallas:

"It adds another shooter and it spreads the floor, gives Dirk Nowitzki opportunities to do what he does best," said Kidd of the ripple effects when he’s hitting his shot. "And then, I’m not the guy who’s going to score a lot of points, so it definitely is a bonus when I do score."

A SINGULAR MENTALITY
Though there were still plenty of things to be resolved with their playoff position on the final night of the season, Jason and the Mavs weren’t worried about things they couldn’t control.

A Lakers loss on Wednesday could’ve given Dallas the No. 2 seed and various scenarios were yet to play out determining who they would be playing in the postseason’s first round. But Jason just wanted to focus on ending the regular season on a high note with solid play. He said as much prior to the finale.

"The big thing is for us to get better tonight and end the season on a positive note and try to get the win," he said. "I feel great and look forward to getting a little bit more work tonight and then getting ready for Saturday or Sunday."

The Mavs fell behind early thanks to a 5-0 run by the Hornets to start the game, but Jason quickly got the Mavs’ offense clicking. No. 2 found Dirk Nowitzki for a short jumper, which Dirk sank while drawing a foul and the free throw made it 5-3.

After finding Dirk again, No. 2 took matters into his own hands and drained his first trey of the game, from the right wing, to give Dallas its first lead of the night, 8-7. By the end of the first quarter, Dallas led by one, 28-27.

New Orleans surged ahead in the second, but upon reentering the game with five minutes to go in the half, Jason immediately got to work at cutting the Hornets’ lead again. He hit his second triple with a minute remaining in the half to pull the Mavs to within one, 56-55. Dallas went into the break behind by just three.

A NEAR PERFECT SECOND HALF
Everything gelled for the Mavs in the second half as they turned what was a close game into a blow out.

Eddie Sefko of the Fort-Worth Star-Telegram’s basketball blog "Full Court Press" explained:

"In winning their most lopsided game of the season Wednesday, the Mavs doled out 32 assists and shot 54.8 percent from the field. They also outscored the Hornets in the second half by a staggering 63-28 margin."

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle noted that the Mavs’ play in the second half is a trend he would ideally like to see the team carry into postseason play:

"The second half is a blueprint for how we’re going to have to play in the playoffs,” he said.

Dallas owner Mark Cuban credited the returns of J-Kidd and Tyson Chandler for the team’s resurgence late in the year.

"You know, I think we’re getting closer and 
closer,” Cuban said. "Our defense is just 1,000 times better 
than it was. Our offense has struggled some with turnovers. But I think a lot
 of that is both Tyson and Jason (Kidd) being out then coming
 back.”

The Mavs started the third on a 7-0 run that was capped when J-Kidd found teammate DeShawn Stevenson for three.

Then, with three minutes remaining in the third, No. 2 put the dagger in a Hornets’ comeback attempt. The Mavs were clinging to a six-point edge when Jason buried consecutive triples, one from the right wing and the other from the top of the arc, doubling the lead.

Chris Hamm of Mavs Moneyball wrote that each of Jason’s triples came in a big spot and helped Dallas keep the New Orleans defense honest:

"Jason Kidd made four threes, and they all seemed to come at pivotal moments in the game. Spreading out the floor is one of the most important parts of his game, and he did that tonight."

No. 2 checked out of the game at the end of the third and the Mavs poured it on in the fourth, outscoring the Hornets by 20. That allowed J-Kidd and the starters an extra bit of rest with the playoffs on the horizon.

HOUSTON’S PROBLEM
The extra rest on Wednesday was perfect for the Mavs, as there was no rest during their penultimate game.

The Mavs won in Houston on Monday, but needed overtime to pick up their third straight win, 98-91.

"It’s a win. We might have played 5 minutes more than we wanted to," Jason said. "We had a lot of great looks we just didn’t make. Houston played great and played hard and gave us a good run."

J-Kidd played 39 minutes in the victory, his highest total in a single game since mid-February. But despite shooting just 1-of-7 from the field and 0-of-5 from deep, Jason found plenty of ways to pitch in.

No. 2 grabbed five rebounds, dished four assists, picked off two steals and even had a block to go along with his four points. He also helped the Mavs with tight defensive play all night. His point guard counterpart Goran Dragic played the entire game and scored 15 points, but did so inefficiently, needing 16 shots (6-of-16).

Dragic’s 37.5 percent from the field was right on par with the rest of his teammates as the Dallas defense forced the Rockets to shoot a collective 36.5 percent from the field.

J-Kidd saw the game as a test and loved how the Dallas defense answered the challenge:

"Down the stretch it was good to see us in a tight game to see how we would respond," he said.

NEXT UP
Dallas’ back-to-back wins this week clinched at least the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference but with the Lakers’ overtime win on Wednesday, the Mavs missed a chance to move up to the two spot.

As the No. 3 seed, the Mavs begin a best-of-seven series with the No. 6 seed Portland Trail Blazers this weekend. Game 1 tips on Saturday night at 8:30 p.m. CST and will be televised nationally on ESPN.

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