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.