J-Kidd, Dirk Lead Mavs Past Celts

Jason Kidd buried a three with 2.2 seconds left to silence the packed crowd at the TD Banknorth Garden tonight. His trey won the game for the Mavs, 101-97.

Kidd's shot finished off an impressive 10 point, nine assist performance. His teammate Dirk Nowitzki stole the show, netting 29 points on 8-15 shooting from the field. The Dirkith also converted all 10 of his shots from the charity stripe.

Tyson Chandler scored 14 points and grabbed 15 boards while Shawn Marion added 13 and nine.

For the Celtics, Ray Allen tallied 24 points, burying three three-pointers. He is now just five longballs away from tying Reggie Miller for the NBA record.

Kendrick Perkins had his best game since his return, recording 13 points and 12 rebounds. Kevin Garnett (16), Paul Pierce (13), and Marquis Daniels (10) all reached double-digits in the scoring column, while Rajon Rondo achieved that feat in the assists column. Rondo scored eight points, while dishing out a dozen dimes.

The Mavs jumped out to an early 34-27 lead in the opening frame. The Celtics were able to hold Dallas to just 20 points in the 2nd quarter, cutting the deficit to three.

Boston continued to battle back after the break, pulling ahead of the Mavericks, 67-66, when Allen drained a jumper.

A Perkins layup with 2:43 left extended the C's lead to 97-91. After Dirk Nowitzki converted a conventional three-point play, Jason Terry missed a runner. However, Garnett was called for a tough foul, and Terry cut the lead to one.

Garnett was then unable to redeem himself, missing a long jumper. Kidd then drained a three with 2.2 seconds left in regulation. Doc Rivers drew up a lob play for KG, but Rondo's pass was off and Dallas prevailed with a 101-97 victory.

With the win, the C's drop to 37-12, while the Mavs improve to 34-15. Boston returns to action Sunday afternoon (2:30 p.m.) when the Magic come to Beantown.