Kidd the man as Mavericks blast Rockets in Texas showdown

Hosuton : 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 per cent from the field while making 9-for-17 3-pointers to knock off Houston for the 14th time in their last 18 meetings.

Knee surgery

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.

Veteran guard

"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 practised with the team for the first time on Monday and declared himself ready to play but Houston has yet to risk him.

RESULTS

CHARLOTTE 116 Toronto 81

INDIANA 86 LA Clippers 73

BOSTON 113 Philadelphia 110

Miami 99 ORLANDO 98

Cleveland 98 DETROIT 88

NEW ORLEANS 102 Milwaukee 99

Dallas 130 HOUSTON 99

SAN ANTONIO 118 G State 104

PHOENIX 126 Memphis 111

Denver 124 MINNESOTA 111

PORTLAND 93 New Jersey 83

SACRAMENTO 111 NY Knicks 97

(home team in CAPS)