Jason Kidd received quite a few nice presents on his birthday, including a victory over his former team, instant payoff from a gutsy lineup change and a glowing commendation from his boss.

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Coach Kidd’s Brooklyn Nets erased a 14-point third quarter deficit to capture a 107-104 overtime victory over the team that drafted J-Kidd—the Dallas Mavericks.

“Everybody who participated fought with energy and effort,” Coach Kidd said. “We got off to a slow start. We were kind of forcing the ball. We were kind of going for the home run pass instead of doing what we have in the past and that’s just making the easy play. But again: trust and composure. Guys stayed the course and kept fighting.”

Jason was drafted No. 2 overall by Dallas in 1994, He played two-and-a-half seasons for the Mavericks and then returned after stints with the Phoenix Suns and New Jersey Nets to lead the Mavericks to the 2011 NBA title, his crowning achievement as a player. Though he had since returned to Dallas as a player, with the New York Knicks last season, Sunday marked J-Kidd’s first visit to Big D as a coach, and it just so happened to fall on his 41st birthday.

Swingman Joe Johnson emerged as the hero of Kidd’s homecoming when he carved up the Dallas defense for a game tying drive at the end of regulation.

It was an interesting lineup change by Coach Kidd led to that result.

He elected to go with a small lineup of Deron Williams, Shaun Livingston, Alan Anderson, Johnson and Paul Pierce, five players who are all 6-7 or shorter. On the other side of the floor, Dallas played two 7-foot forwards: Dirk Nowitzki and Samuel Dalembert.

Nowitzki missed a shot with 22.8 seconds remaining and Johnson pulled in the rebound amid the trees, setting up his final drive. Afterward, Coach Kidd was glad to be able to look back at the courageous call and smile.

“We felt Paul can play the 5, and why not?” J-Kidd said with a grin. “We got lucky. Against talented players like Dirk, you just hope that they miss. Guys made it extremely tough. We showed him different looks, gave him different guys on him. He had some great looks that he usually makes. Again, we just got lucky tonight.”

Coach Kidd, who dished countless assists to the skilled German big man during his second stint in Dallas, knew stopping Dirk would play a major role in the victory. Brooklyn was able to do just that, as Nowitzki connected on just 2-of-12 shots for 10 points—less than half of his season average.

While Jason chalked it up to luck, Pierce was quick to credit the backbone of the team, which has grown immensely over the course of the season.

“One word: grit,” Pierce said, describing the win. “It’s one of those gritty games right there. Most of the game, things didn’t really go our way. We really didn’t get a lot of calls, but the guys stuck in there and grinded it out. We really grew as a team, getting a win on the road in a hostile environment, being down most of the game. We’re just starting to show the true character of this ballclub.”

Brooklyn Nets v Dallas Mavericks

After starting the season looking nothing like playoff contenders, the Nets have made a remarkable turnaround, winning 11 of their last 13 games. Brooklyn been one of the NBA’s best teams in the second half and, after its win Sunday night in Dallas, is just 1.5 games off the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference.

Nets general manager Billy King believes J-Kidd has been the lead engineer behind the swift resurgence in Brooklyn.

“The biggest thing (to the turnaround) I think is with Jason. Now we have a system of how we’re going to play, an identity,” King said. “We have a system, and I think a lot of the credit is players playing well, but Jason has been amazing.”

Though Coach Kidd’s rejuvenated were eventually able to deliver him a birthday victory, it didn’t appear that would be the case early on. In the first quarter, Brooklyn looked more like the early-season Nets. Shots weren’t falling and the defense faltered as a result. As a group, they connected on just five of 20 shots in the first quarter and fell behind 29-15 as a result.

But the offense began to pick up in the second quarter. Guard Marcus Thornton provided a tremendous spark off the bench, with eight points, including a three to start the quarter. He finished the game with 20 points to lead all reserves. Williams also added six points late in the second frame to send Brooklyn into the halftime break down seven points, 48-41.

After seeing its lead diminished in the second, Dallas came out firing in the third. Shawn Marion splashed a three, while center Samuel Dalembert took over on the defensive end, notching four blocks in a three-minute span. Their efforts built the Mavericks lead back up to 14 points.

However, as Coach Kidd alluded to afterward, the Nets stayed the course, thanks in large part to their defense. After allowing five threes in the first half Brooklyn made one of its primary focuses in the second half taking away the three-point shot. As a result of the focused effort, they yielded just two treys in the third and only one in the fourth quarter.

“Defensively, guys were switching, were able to keep the ball in front of them and taking the 3-pointers away there in the second half was a big part of our success,” Jason said. “Our defense didn’t break, it might have bent at times, but we got steals and came up with big stops when we had to.”

Once the defense picked up, it quickly translated to the offensive end. The Nets found themselves still down 13 going into the final two minutes of the third frame, but they forced the Mavs to miss their final four shots of the quarter. Brooklyn used the stretch to construct a run of their own and once again cut the deficit down to seven, 72-65, going into the fourth quarter.

Early in the final frame, BK showed the mettle that Pierce talked about, as it made its first run at the lead. Thornton canned back-to-back treys to start the fourth, and Williams eventually gave Brooklyn a 74-73 Brooklyn lead at the line. He finished 8-of-8 from the charity stripe on the night, where the Nets cashed in 28 points on 33 attempts.

Brooklyn Nets v Dallas Mavericks

The Nets held that lead for the better part of five minutes behind big shots from Thornton and Mirza Teletovic. However, back-to-back buckets from Marion and Monta Ellis put Dallas back ahead. Thanks to Nowitzki’s slow night and an early departure from Jose Calderon, Ellis paced the Mavericks with 32 points but the Nets made him work for them and he took a total of 24 shots from the floor.

Dallas was able to cling tight to that lead, but wasn’t able to put Brooklyn away over the final four minutes and change. Eventually Nowitzki had his shot to make up for the off night, but with the ball and just over 20 seconds left, he missed the crucial shot that would’ve made it a two-possession game. Johnson corralled the rebound and took the ball in isolation up top. From there, he deftly drove past a defending Marion and straight to the rim, tying the game at 91.

“We love giving the ball to Joe,” J-Kidd said. “Joe has been doing that for us all season. That’s why he’s an All-Star and one of the best at what he does.”

Dallas had one final chance at the win in regulation, but Ellis’ three fell off the mark, sending the game to OT.

Brooklyn owned the extra period, as Johnson stayed hot with a trifecta and a mid-range jumper early. He finished with a team-high 22 points. Late in the period, Johnson’s strong night helped to set up a huge shot from Williams.

After Johnson drew the Dallas defense’s attention in the middle of the floor, he kicked to a wide-open Williams, who knocked down a three that gave Brooklyn an eight-point lead—its largest of the contest.

Like Kidd, Williams was making a homecoming of his own in Dallas. He grew up in The Colony, Texas, just outside of Big D.

After Williams’ crushing shot, the Mavs still kept fighting, as Ellis had two final threes in him, which cut the lead down to one. However, Pierce was able to hit two last free throws to close out the hard-fought victory. Johnson, the savior of the night, was thrilled to help close out the victory for Coach Kidd on his birthday, against his former team.

“It was huge,” Johnson said. “For (Jason), not only just his birthday, but him coming back to Dallas. D-Will coming back home to Dallas, that’s big, man. That means a lot to those guys, so I was happy to pull it out.”

After the game, Jason’s wife Porschla shared a shot of the victorious birthday boy with their son Chance.

Birthday Tweet

NEXT UP

Coach Kidd didn’t have much time to celebrate his 42nd in Dallas, as the Nets (37-31) quickly departed Big D on Sunday night and headed for New Orleans where their road trip continues on Monday night against the Pelicans (29-40).

Brooklyn is 1-0 against NOLA this season. They notched a 93-81 win over the Pelicans in February, behind a huge night from their bench. Mason Plumlee, now a starter, guided Brooklyn with 22 points and 13 rebounds.

The two squads are set for an 8 p.m. ET tip from the Smoothie King Center and the game can be seen on YES Network.

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