Crazy sequence leads to Jason Kidd's winner

BOSTON -- When Dirk Nowitzki hurried a pass to Jason Kidd at the top of the arc with the Mavericks trailing the Celtics by one and the clock ticking down, Kidd had one thought flash through his mind.

"I had one [a 3-point shot] I missed from Jet [Jason Terry] earlier [in the fourth quarter] and that one I thought I just rushed it," Kidd said. "So, if I had another opporuntity, just take your time, you’re not a shooter so they’re going to give you the shot."

Always self-depricating when it comes to his jump shooting even though he ranks third all-time in 3-pointers made, Kidd wasn't the first or second option on the play drawn up during a timeout with 15.3 seconds left in the game and Dallas trailing 97-96.

The play was designed to go Terry, who would come off a "triple down screen" and take the shot.

"[Celtics coach] Doc Rivers looked at me. I looked at him and he kind of shook his and said, 'It’s coming to you,' and I said, 'You know it’s coming,'" Terry said. "They swithed out on me and Dirk was open."

Terry had no room to operate when he got the ball so he sent a pass into Nowitzki, who was posted up against Kevin Garnett in the paint. The pass was low and hard to handle. It squirted in front of Nowitzki, who was able to get a decent enough grip on it.

"I was about to throw something up at the basket," Nowitizki said.

Instead he pushed it out to Kidd, who was all alone at the top of the arc. Celtics guard Ray Allen came charging at Kidd, who gave a pump fake and Allen sailed by him.

"I had thoughts of maybe I’d throw up the ball and maybe jump into Ray," Kidd said, meaning he hoped he could draw a foul. "But, he took a wide angle so I couldn’t get to him. So the next thing was to make sure I was behind the 3-point line and let it go."

Kidd shuffled his feet to behind the arc and released. There was no doubt about it.

"I’m glad I kicked it out," Nowitzki said. "He made a heck of a shot. A 3-pointer out of a pump fake is probably one of the toughest shots in basketball, but he made it look easy. He’s been making tough shots his whole career and that was definitely a big shot."

The bucket gave the Mavs a 99-97 lead with 2.5 seconds to play. The Celtics tried to tie it with an alley-oop inbounding from the sideline, but Rajon Rondo's pass sailed over Garnett's head. Nowitzki added two free throws and the Mavs walked away with the 101-97 victory.

"Dirk was nice enough to trust his teammates down the stretch to make a play," Kidd said. "I got lucky and it went in."