Mavs 104, Kings 102: Dallas Is Best In The West And Off To Second-Best Start In Franchise History

   Something at the center of the second-best start in Mavs franchise history? The surprisingly studly play at center, once again in evidence Friday as the Mavs topped visiting Sacramento 104-102 to sprint into first place in the West with a 10-3 record.

   After 13 games, here’s what the Mavs average per night from their starting center: 9.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 1.9 blocks. Whether it’s been the now-at-rest Erick Dampier or Friday’s first-teamer Drew Gooden, it’s been special – and those stats are among the hidden gems we unearth and polish up from an All-Access Pass night with the Mavs at the AAC:

   In his four consecutive starts while Damp deals with Dr. House, Gooden is averaging 14.8 points, 13 rebounds and 1.2 blocks.

   *KIDD AND FISH, TEACHING LESSONS: I hate to be presumptuous enough to give advice to 29 NBA coaches, especially as it regards Jason Kidd because after all these years, there shouldn’t be anything new to say about opposing Jason Kidd, but here goes: There is logic in disrespecting his 3-point accuracy by leaving him to his lonesome when he is joined on the floor by the rest of the Fave Five, made up of the offensive artillery of Dirk/Marion/Jet/Josh.

   But people, when Kidd is on the floor with Quinton Ross, YOU ARE LEAVING THE WRONG GUY UNGUARDED! Doing so on this night resulted in Kidd patiently toeing the arc, surveying the scene, wishing everybody a Happy Thanksgiving, turning to me on Press Row to continue our sexy Plus/Minus conversation,  phoning a series of supermodels to see which of them was picking him up after the game … and then shooting an uncontested 3.

   He did so eight times. Not counting his desperation bomb to beat a buzzer (because he was 5-of-9 officially), he made the patiently-toeing-the-arc 3five of the eight times.

   Kidd’s talents are crazy and therefore the plots against him are sometimes crazy, too; his wrestling-move steal (one of three), spin-away dribble and then no-look backhand bounce pass down court to a racing Jason Terry for a layup was the purtiest of his 11 assists. But why do teams insist on giving him 15 points? Why do they cover Q while treating Kidd like the only reason he’s even in the gym is to be yet another guy who wants to try out for the PA announcing job?  

  *DIRK'S CHERRY: Want fourth-quarter heroics that get you on SportsCenter? Dirk Nowitzki can do that.

  Want fourth-quarter heroics that are so subtle that you can’t get arrested?  Dirk Nowitzki can do that … and here’s a sweet example: He’s now 35-of-35 on free throws attempted in the final quarters of games.

    I’ve coughed up a lot of numbers on The UberMan over the years and over the course of this young season – in part because I’m pretty much out of superlatives. I’ll run by you again my Friday morning example:

   The UberMan is ranked in the top 100 all-time in the categories of 3-point field-goal shooting, free throws made, free-throw percentage, rebounds, blocks, points, points per game, rebounds her game, PER and turnover percentage.

     I can also recap this night by noting that by scoring 20, this is his eighth straight 20-point game, that he added five boards and a season-best seven assists (!) and that with two blocks, he’s now got a stuff in eight straight games, too.

    The cherry on top: 35-of-35 in what many believe is the loneliest and most pressurized situation in the game: Making free throws when you just gotta make ‘em.

    *I'M NAMING MY NEXT SON 'TYREKE': First-year coach Paul Westphal’s Kings (owners of the league’s poorest record last season) don’t have Kevin Martin available due to injury and they are so young … Sacramento Princes is more like it (ha!). … but they did fight and they can shoot (53 percent, and Dallas has now given up 50-percent shooting just twice this year).

    "To come in here and have a chance to knock off Dallas and play them the way we did, I was very impressed with our young group,’’ Westphal said.

    Oh, and the rookie guard Tyreke Evans (29 points) has a lot of what it takes. He scored 20-plus for the sixth straight game, and let me tell you what we used to say back on the mean streets of St. Paul, Minnesota: If you name your baby “Tyreke,’’ your baby is going to grow up to be a baller.

    *Apparently that same rule applies in Guadeloupe for babies wrapped in blue and named “Rodrigue.’’ Or did you not see French Cuffs outdo Evans on that jump ball?

   *PEELING JASON TERRY: Without second-banana candidates Josh Howard and Shawn Marion available, Jason Terry is certainly choosing the right spot for his audition: The fourth quarter.

     Like Dirk with his clutch free throws, Jet’s crunch-time timing is impeccable. This marks the fifth time he’s scored in double-figures for a fourth quarter; I don’t know why I’m writing this all surprises inasmuch as he did that 14 times last season. Terry scored 12 of his 20 points in the final period and when it was time to put the thing out of reach, he made both free throws in the final seconds.

   That re-establishes that what happened in New Orleans was an anomaly. … and it re-establishes Jason Terry’s credentials as a viable piece of peel-able fruit.

    *MEET KRIS HUNKPHRIES: Jet’s 20 is six more than the entire Kings bench managed. Dallas’ bench scored 52 points, with Kris Hunkphries pitching in with 15.

    "The emphasis has been on the bench guys from the start," said Hunkphries. "It starts with Jason Terry coming off the bench first. We've got to bring energy. It's an important part of the team."

   This is Kris’ first time in double-figs in a Mav uni and just a bucket short of his career high. Thanks for the Minnesotan throw-in, Canada.

   *SO HAPPY TOGETHER: I am so happy to see Tim Thomas (11 points) do something more than just go lollygag to the corner waiting to launch a 3 that I’m thinking of letting someone talk him and me into posing for a photo.

    So I let someone talk us into it.

   *DALLAS DOES THE DISHES: Remember before this week’s win over the Spurs when coach Rick Carlisle noted that the previous week’s loss to San Antonio was fueled by a sort of selfishness, by “not sharing the ball’’? Check this out: The Mavs has 28 assists here and when they notch 25 dishes or more, they are 6-0.

   *FIVE STEPS INTO THE 12-STEP PROGRAM: Dallas now has the West’s longest winning streak at five. The Mavs now get a long break before Tuesday’s homie with Golden State (in which the long break ought to extend for 48 more minutes) after playing 10 games in 18 days … and managing an 8-2 record.

    You will recall our “12-Step Program’’ story on the Soft-As-Pudding portion of the schedule that features a dozen games beginning with Nov. 13 in Minnesota and ends on Dec. 4 in Memphis? And how at the start of the portion the 12 foes had a combined record of 43-65 (and if you throw out the only team likely to be favored over the Mavs, the Cavs, 37-62?)

    Would the Mavs win maybe eight of the 12? Nine of the 12?

    Well, so far they are 5-0 against the pudding. It's not quite as good as the 2002 team that won the first 14 outings of the year. But it's second-best to that.

   And for the moment, five straight – as many as this team won consecutively in either of the previous two seasons – will nurse us through the weekend.

The Kings-Mavs boxscore 

Hat-tip to DB.commer Chuck Cooperstein