Ten-time All-Star Jason Kidd is a big time veteran basketball player. He’s gritty, passionate and never gives up. Even if you’ve never seen him play before, you would have no doubt about that after seeing him and his triple-double performance lead the Mavericks to a 111-103 come-from-behind road victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
Kidd finished with 19 points, 17 assists and 16 rebounds for the 104th triple-double of his career. As far as the numbers go, it was his most dominating one since January 15, 1996 when he tallied 21 points, 16 rebounds and 16 assists, according to the Mavericks TV broadcast. At the time, Kidd was in his first go-around with the Mavericks.
Known for his 3-point shooting ability, Kidd didn’t necessarily start off well, but he had an explosive finish. With only five points in the first half, he didn’t land a 3 until the Mavs’ last shot of the first half. The shot gave the Mavs a very temporary 50-48 lead before Joe Johnson tied it at 50.
After being outscored 26-15 in the third quarter, the Mavs needed some magic. Kidd provided that spark with 11 points and eight assists in the final quarter. Although Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry played huge roles in the 34-point fourth-quarter barrage, Kidd, who went 4 for 10 from long range for the game, hit three 3’s in the last three minutes of regulation to carry the team into overtime.
Nowitzki had five of his 37 points along with two assists in the overtime to help the Mavericks to victory. The Mavericks outscored the Hawks 12-4 in the extra five minutes and secured their sixth straight win.
Shawn Marion bucketed 14 points, including six dunks in the game. J.J. Barea assisted on six balls, two of them Kidd 3-pointers, in 20:26 minutes on court.
It was not without some bumps though as the Hawks, a probable Eastern Conference playoff team, came up with a 21-4 run in the second and a 9-0 run of their own in the third to take an 86-71 lead.
But victories a team has to work for are all the more sweet.
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