As their plane departed Los Angeles on Wednesday night, following a two-game stay in LA, Jason Kidd and the Mavericks were relieved.

After all, following a second straight loss inside Staples Center on a last-second three-pointer Wednesday, the Mavs were more than ready to move on.

Jason and the Mavericks held a 90-89 lead with less than five seconds to go on Wednesday, but Clippers guard Chauncey Billups sunk a trey with one second left to pull the Clippers ahead 91-89. The shot, down to the spot on the floor, was eerily reminiscent to the finish of Monday night’s heartstopper against the Lakers, when Derek Fisher sank a trey with 3.1 tick to go to sink the Mavs.

"Again we lost on a 3 from the right side — the same spot Fish

[Derek Fisher] made his shot the other night," Jason said. "The Clippers drew up a good play. We knew Billups and [Blake] Griffin were going to have the ball at some point, and Billups made the shot. We were in a position to win the game, and we just couldn’t get a stop."

The Billups shot actually marked the third time this season that the Mavs have dropped a game to a team that buried a last-second three-pointer. Kevin Durant also buried Dallas with a buzzer-beating trey on December 29th in Oklahoma City.

"We must lead the league in last-second shots made by our opponents, so we’ve got to figure out a way to close the door," Kidd said of Dallas’ last minute luck. "We left it open, but there were a lot of plays that led to that just to get us back in the ballgame.

J-Kidd contributed five points and 10 assists against the Clippers, but the Mavs’ inability to record defensive stops at key moments kept the Clippers in the game, with neither team leading by more than six points until the middle of the third quarter when the Clippers went ahead by nine. Dallas, however, answered with an offensive burst, going on a 14-5 run in the final six minutes of the quarter to tie the game at 71 heading into the fourth.

Los Angeles took the lead on three different occasions in the fourth only to watch the Mavs bounce back each time. Dallas finally took the lead on back-to-back treys from Terry. The second of those two, with five seconds to go, put them in front by one.

"Those two shots Jason Terry made were huge," J-Kidd said.

But Billups’ trey basically erased them giving LA the lead with one-second left. A lob inbound pass from Jason to Ian Mahinmi at the buzzer felt short.

After the game, coach Rick Carlisle hinted that the Mavs were going to have to focus and play some lockdown defense in the next few games before the team returns home.

"It’s tough when this happens," Carlisle said of the last-second loss. "But, for me, it points to the fact that there’s a lot of other things we can do during the course of a game to avoid those situations, and that’s how we’re going to have to look at it."

Jason was on the same page as his coach, noting that one of basketball’s most fortunate traits is that it allows you to go out and correct your mistakes and win one night after a loss.

"That’s basketball at its best," he said. "It can reward you and also it can upset you. We’re a veteran ballclub, and we have a game tomorrow, so we have to be ready."

NEXT UP
The Mavs’ road trip makes its next stop in Utah tonight, where Jason and the team look to silence the streaking Utah Jazz.

The Jazz have posted the best record in the NBA since the start of 2012, winning eight of nine games in that stretch. Tonight is the second-to-last stop on the Mavs’ West Coast road tour before the team returns home on Monday. Catch the game on TNT at 9:30 CST.

COACH KIDD?
Jason’s veteran savvy for the game packs all the qualities of a great hoops coach and he’s learned under some of the NBA’s best leaders. This summer, No. 2 might try his hand at the trade.

Though he has retired from the international basketball scene as a player, and thus will not be considered for a spot on the 2012 Olympic team heading into the London Games, Jason would love to remain involved with the national team in some capacity.


Though he’s done as an international player, J-Kidd could join Coach K on the sidelines this summer (Getty Images).

With that in mind, he might soon be swapping out his jersey for a whistle alongside storied Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, the head man of the USA basketball squad.

"I talked with Coach K about maybe getting into the coaching end of it," Jason said. "I want to stay connected with them in some form."

It couldn’t hurt for USA Basketball to keep Jason involved. After all, along with gold medals as a member of the 2000 and 2008 Olympic teams, J-Kidd also is the owner of a pristine 56-0 record for the U.S. National Team.

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