March 15th, 2008 
Stephen Rhodes 
Posted in ????????????????????????? 
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Jason Kidd was brought to the Mavericks for leadership and his excellent ability to provide assists, when needed; but it was his backup, Tyronn Lue, who may have outshone Kidd as he was perfect from the floor, going 5-of-5, including a trio of 3-pointers.? Between Kidd, Lue and Dirk Nowitzki, there was enough firepower to overwhelm the Indiana Pacers 116-97 Friday at American Airlines Center.
The Mavericks helped themselves by shooting a blistering 58% from the floor – including 48% from 3-point range – while dishing out 31 assists; Indiana was behind 8-6 when they went on a streak of missed shots.? They didn’t make their first jump shot until 1:47 of the first quarter; the Pacers were down 31-17 when the first quarter ended, but problem child David Harrison was whistled for a technical for saying something after the buzzer, enabling Dallas to go into the second quarter ahead 32-17.
Dallas would go into halftime leading comfortably 62-46 as they continued their torrid shooting; they would not face a serious challenge from Indiana for the remainder fo the contest.? Dallas had 6players in double-digits, led by Nowitzki with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists, while Josh Howard scored 18 with 4 rebounds and 5 assists.? Kidd, while scoring only 9 points, grabbed 7 rebounds, dished out 12 assists, with a steal and a blocked shot.
Indiana was led by reserve Ronald Murray with 22 points, 2 rebounds, an assist and a steal, while Mike Dunleavy scored 18 with 5 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal in a losing cause.? Dallas (43-23) proceeds to Miami to take on the Heat Sunday, while Indiana (25-40) also travels to Florida to face the Orlando Magic on Saturday night.
