It was a historic homecoming for Jason Kidd and the Mavs, who returned to the American Airlines Center on Monday night following a two-game East Coast road trip.

In the back end of the team’s third set of back-to-back games this month, the Mavs upended the Boston Celtics, 89-73. Dallas was led by another solid defensive showing by J-Kidd, who hit another milestone in the process.


With his second quarter steal off a Ray Allen pass,  Jason passed Jordan for 2nd on the steals list (Getty Images).

Jason finished the game with eight assists, six points, two rebounds and three steals — enough to surpass Michael Jordan for second place on the NBA’s all-time steals list– in just under 23 minutes. After the game, Jason talked about the honor associated with passing Jordan on any list.

"Well because Mike is everybody’s idol, he played both ends of the court," No. 2 said. "Just being able to pass him in something is an honor in itself. When you talk about defense, he played both sides of the ball. (John) Stockton and Jordan are the two best at what they do. When you talk about guards, those two are the best all-time."

J-Kidd zoomed past Jordan on the list by grabbing an errant Ray Allen pass in the second quarter. The steal led directly to two Mavs points, putting Dallas in front 33-21. Watch the play unfold below:

Second place might have to be good enough for Jason, who leads the Mavs by averaging 1.68-steals-per-game. He would need 748 more steals just to tie Stockton for first place on the list. But No. 2 will still go down as one of the greatest ever to do it. Last week, Sixers coach Doug Collins lauded Jason’s anticipation, the key to making so many steals.

"He’s got a great feel

[for the game]," Collins said. "I’ve always said that he plays the game with a rearview mirror. He can see not only what’s in front on him, but he can see what’s behind him."

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said that J-Kidd’s keen sense for where the ball is and where it is going reminds him of another NBA legend:

"Jason reminds me of Larry Bird that way," Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. "He has a unique anticipation, it’s almost savant-like. He kind of senses things before they happen, I mean he senses when a guy’s going to throw the ball into the post before the guy even knows he’s going to throw the ball into the post. And then Jason, he gets around and is able to knock it away and goes the other way. Bird was the same way, so he’s an all-time great, one of the best ever."

The steal that pushed J-Kidd past Jordan was one of three on the night for the 18-year veteran and he reflected afterward on how he has prepared himself to be such a pest to opposing teams on defense.

"I’ve just been in the right place at the right time, understanding guys’ tendencies, watching film early on in my career and just been lucky to be in the league long enough to get in the way of some passes," Jason said.

Along with his three steals, J-Kidd was on the offensive end of some passes as well. He tallied eight assists and knocked down a pair of triples to bolster the Dallas lead in the third quarter.

No. 2 also wasn’t the only Maverick making his mark on the record book Monday night as Dirk Nowitzki achieved two milestones. With his seventh point of the evening, Dirk passed Robert Parish for 20th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. The historic bucket came, of course, off a feed from J-Kidd. Nowitzki also surpassed 1,000 career blocks with his first quarter swat of Avery Bradley.

"Listen, every week we’re going to have records broken with the guys we have on this team. It’s like a legends team," Carlisle said. "Jason Kidd’s career has been amazing. Think about 18 years, almost two decades, of top-notch excellence."

NEXT UP
J-Kidd and the Mavs have a much-needed Tuesday off before the Lake Show comes to Dallas.

Wednesday night’s matchup against the Los Angeles Lakers will be the Mavs’ last game before the All-Star Break. Jason and co. are hoping to end the first half of the season on a high note.

"We’ve got one more game against the Lakers, who are playing well," J-Kidd said. "So, we’ve got to end the first half on the right note by getting the win."

Wednesday’s tip-off is at 8:30 p.m. CST and can be seen nationally on ESPN or locally on Fox Sports Southwest.

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