Kidd assists Mavericks to blasting of Rockets
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Jason Kidd moved into second place on the NBA's all-time assist list as the Dallas Mavericks thumped Texas rivals the Houston Rockets 130-99 on Wednesday.
Kidd made seven assists to move to 10,337 and pass Mark Jackson (10,334) on the list, though he still trails John Stockton (15,806), as the Southwest division leading Mavericks (11-4) continued their strong start to the season.
"The big thing is to just play the game. The stats and stuff will take care of themselves," Kidd told reporters. "At the end of your career you can look back and see what you achieved."
Jason Terry had 27 points and 10 assists while Dirk Nowitzki scored 25 and Dallas used an 18-4 run in the fourth quarter to blow the game open.
Carl Landry recorded a team-high 24 points and Trevor Ariza added 20 for the Rockets (8-7).
Following a disappointing 111-103 loss to the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, the Mavericks rebounded well and avoided successive defeats for the first time this season.
Dallas shot 65 percent from the field while making 9-for-17 3-pointers to knock off Houston for the 14th time in their last 18 meetings.
Reserve Tm Thomas had a season-high 23 points after making his season debut a week ago following offseason knee surgery, and Shawn Marion had 12 points while playing for the first time since missing three games with an ankle injury.
The Mavericks are still depleted and played without Josh Howard (ankle), Erick Dampier (illness), and Quinton Ross (back).
The Rockets got off to a promising start and led 25-13 midway through the first quarter before surrendering 26 unanswered points to fall behind 39-25.
"We should be able to hang in there when they make their run," Houston forward Luis Scola said after tallying 15 points and seven boards. "Everything that they wanted to do, they did. We are not going to beat anybody playing like this."
The Rockets still have no timetable on the return of seven-time All-Star Tracy McGrady, who had microfracture surgery on his knee in February.
The veteran guard practiced with the team for the first time on Monday and declared himself ready to play but Houston has yet to risk him.
(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; Editing by Greg Stutchbury and John O'Brien)
