Jason Kidd started with a trey and finished with a dime, each crucial as the Mavericks picked up their fifth straight win.

Timely shooting and a team effort were the keys to the Mavs’ 96-92 win against the L.A. Clippers at home on Monday night. That was particularly true for J-Kidd, whose three points and four assists came at the most crucial moments in the game for the Mavericks.

Jason’s lone trey of the night came just five minutes into the first quarter, off a Shawn Marion assist, to give the Mavs a 13-12 advantage.

After J-Kidd drained the three-pointer to spark the offense, the Mavs went on to score 14 more points in the quarter’s remaining seven minutes, giving the team a six-point lead heading into the second. They led by eight at halftime.

Los Angeles owned the third frame, outscoring the Mavericks 29-19 to take a lead into the fourth. But Dallas wasn’t done it and it was the assist work of J-Kidd that buoyed them late.

Jason did what he does best in the fourth, unleashing passes with pinpoint precision.

After returning to the floor with 7:30 remaining and Dallas down by two, Jason put a stop to a Clippers run, dishing to Dirk Nowitzki for a trey that cut the LA lead from four to one.

Nowitzki followed with a pair of free throws to put the Mavericks back in front by one and Jason helped make it a three-point game with a dime to Shawn Marion, who finished at the rack to push the lead.

But perhaps the most timely of J-Kidd’s assists came with 2:02 remaining as he fed Jason Terry with a beautiful pass that Terry deflected off the glass for a layup, increasing Dallas’ lead up to four points, 88-84. Dallas never trailed again, with Nowitzki’s six points in the final two minutes finishing the win and sending the Clippers back to LA with yet another loss in Dallas — a city where the squad hasn’t won a game in more than five years.

After the game, Terry, the recipient of No. 2’s final and most pivotal assist, touched briefly on his belief that the Mavericks are one of the best teams at stepping up in critical moments due in large part to the team’s veteran leadership.

"I’ll take us over anybody in a fourth-quarter type ballgame," he said. "I believe we’ll come out winning more times than not, just again because of our leader Jason Kidd and because of the familiarity that we have with Shawn, myself and Dirk. We have an edge over whoever we play because of experience — because of what we went through last year."

Dallas’ ability to hang on impressed head coach Rick Carlisle, who told reporters after the game that he was really proud of his team.

"This was a very, very tough game," he said. "We held it together, we kept our poise and the guys just kept working. It was our defense that got us over the hump."

NEXT UP
Jason and the Mavs remain in Dallas to finish off the second part of their two-game homestand as they take on the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night.

The teams have split two games against each other this season, but they meet Wednesday with their seasons headed in different directions. The surging Mavs, are winners of their last five, while a scuffling Denver team that has lost 7-of-10.

No. 2 will be playing in his 1,287th career game, passing Sam Perkins for 13th most in NBA history.

Tip off is at 7:30 PM CST on Fox Sports Southwest.

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