Earl K. Sneed, Mavs.com
Birthday Kidd shines with Dirk out
Los Angeles Clippers 96 at Dallas Mavericks 106
Everyone wishes they could celebrate their birthday in style. Jason Kidd made sure that he did.
After dropping three of four games, the Dallas Mavericks needed to shake things up against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night. A change in the starting lineup is what Mavs coach Rick Carlisle thought would do the trick, as his team took the court for the second game of a back-to-back. But by night's end, it would be the play of a 37-year-old Kidd that grabbed the headlines on his birthday.
(Photo by Glenn James/NBAE via Getty Images)
With the team's leading scorer, Dirk Nowitzki, ejected during the third quarter for just the third time in his career, the pass-first Kidd became the Mavs' No. 1 scoring option when the team needed him most. The birthday "kid" did not disappoint, leading his team to a 106-96 victory while writing another chapter in his Hall of Fame novel.
"I thought (Kidd) willed the team with his energy and his enthusiasm," Carlisle said of the 10-time All-Star. "He got guys engaged and it wasn't just play-making -- it was shot-making, it was assists, it was defensive plays, it was giving guys confidence out there."
"With Dirk out, I thought I'd play Dirk," Kidd said. "I didn't want a bad birthday, so I was going to take the blame if we lost with my offensive output."
Before the game, Carlisle made the executive decision to insert center Erick Dampier at the five spot in place of Brendan Haywood. Dampier joined the first unit for the first time since dislocating his right middle finger in a 99-86 road loss to Oklahoma City on Feb. 16.
"I've talked to both Damp and Haywood about starting," Carlisle said. "Hey, they're a team...We have too much inconsistency right now. I think we'll remedy that, but I'm not ready to pencil guys in."
But while the 7-footer tried to stabilize the interior, Nowitzki and Kidd handled the scoring load in the opening quarter. With the Dallas defense scrambling from end to end and Shawn Marion's back-to-back scores to close the period, the Mavericks opened up a 32-24 advantage after one.
The Mavericks turned four L.A. turnovers into 10 points at the other end in the first quarter.
Haywood got his opportunity in the second period and he made the most of it. The former North Carolina standout put in work at both ends of the court, sending back shots with his emphatic rejections and scoring with ease in the paint. Wisely, the big man also left the scoring to Nowitzki and Kidd, as the duo shot the Mavs to a double-digit lead. Despite Clippers forward Chris Kaman's best efforts, Dallas took a 62-48 margin into the half.
Nowitzki's 18 first half points led all scorers at the midway point, connecting on 8-of-10 shots. Kaman paced L.A. with 12 points. The Mavericks out-shot the Clippers 54 percent to 42 percent after 24 minutes of play.
Carlisle's rotation continued to get a facelift in the second half, as the coach waited just 52 seconds into the third quarter before replacing Caron Butler with DeShawn Stevenson. But that's not the sequence that impacted the game most.
At the 9:16-mark of the third, Nowitzki earned himself an early exit, drawing back-to-back technicals for arguing with the officials.
"That was a bad decision by Dirk. It put the team in a terrible situation and he knows it was wrong," Carlisle explained. "If you get a technical, you get one and make your point and you got to let it go. He is too important to us. But hey, we had other guys that stepped up."
With No. 41 in the locker room, the Clippers hacked into the Mavs' lead with a 9-0 run. Kaman then gave the Clippers a 71-69 edge with a floater in the lane. L.A. then proceeded to take a 77-76 lead into the final period. The Mavs shot just 6-of-23 and were outscored 29-14 in the third quarter.
The Mavericks then found life in the play of rookie Rodrigue Beaubois, including the young guard's electric two-hand finish off Kidd's lob pass to open up the fourth period.
"Beaubois was ready to come in and he played big for us...This is one of those games where you have to find a way. We ran the lob play for Roddy, which worked and that got the crowd into it and it just kind of lifted us," the coach said.
The play ignited a fuse in the Mavs, helping the team to eight unanswered points. Kidd then took control, swishing in perimeter shots and scoring in transition to open up an 18-point lead with a 22-3 run to begin the quarter.
"I thought we played a pretty good first half and then we kind of just let down and gave the lead away. We found ourselves in a dogfight, then we responded and we all pitched in and did something well in the fourth," Kidd said.
The Dallas advantage reached as much as 19 before the Clippers climbed to within eight down the stretch with the game securely tucked in the Mavs' pocket. Kidd checked out with 19.1 ticks left to a standing ovation.
"I can't say enough great things about Jason Kidd. Tonight, and really the two years I have been with him, he's been just phenomenal," the coach added."I don't believe he's 37," Beaubois said. "He's lying. When Dirk went out, he really took over the game."
Behind Kidd's season-high 26 points, 12 assists and six rebounds, the Mavericks more than made up for Nowitzki's ejection. The veteran also connected on a season-best six 3-pointers on 11 attempts. He did it all while battling for over 41 minutes.
"It was a nice birthday gift and a good birthday, and I'm glad we got the win," Kidd said.
Though Nowitzki recorded his first ejection since December 26, 2008 at Utah, the star did score 18 points in 19 minutes. The Mavs' role players more than picked up the slack, as Jason Terry (14), Marion (12), Haywood (12) and Beaubois (10) all scored in double figures. Haywood also snatched down 10 rebounds in 30 minutes off the bench.
"You got to get the win against the Clippers, because they had nothing to play for. It was a necessity," Haywood explained.
The Dallas reserves outscored their L.A. counterparts 43-5.
Former Mav Drew Gooden led the Clippers with a season-best output in his return to the American Airlines Center. The former Kansas product set season-highs with 26 points and 20 rebounds. Kaman finished with 22 points.
Now the Mavericks try to keep the momentum going as they head out west for a two-game road trip. The journey begins with a nationally televised game on TNT against the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday night. The game will air at 9:30 p.m. CT. The Blazers have won the first two matchups between the teams, with four regular season games scheduled.
"We haven't beat them all year, so this is a big game for us," Terry said.
The Mavericks return to the American Airlines Center on Monday night when they host the Denver Nuggets. The Mavs and Nuggets have split the first two games of the season series. That matchup will air nationally on NBA TV and locally on KTXA 21 at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (214) 747-MAVS.
For up to the minute news on the Dallas Mavericks, visit Mavs.com. Follow Earl K. Sneed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/EarlKSneed.
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