Another recap courtesy of LJRotter:

The Dallas Mavericks are media darlings this week. They are on a league-best, five-game winning streak, with their latest W coming against the world champion Los Angeles Lakers. Their trade is the talk of the town, due in no small part to the immediate positive effect of their acquisitions. Caron Butler is still out, thanks to some bad medicine, and Erick Dampier is still sidelined by his middle finger. Will Dallas continue riding high after Wednesday’s game, or will the Atlanta Hawks send them back down to earth? 

Game as a Whole:

If ever there was a game of runs, this was it. To start, the teams were about even, but the Mavericks pulled ahead to a 14 point lead at one point in the second quarter. By the end of the half, the game was tied at 50-all. Then the Hawks showed their range with an impressive run of outside shots to put the Hawks up big in the third. Fortunately for Dallas fans, the Mavericks have recently made a habit of coming back from behind for big wins. They caught up with unbelievable clutch shots from all of their big players to force the game into overtime. In the end, Dallas proved the veteran team and pulled out their sixth win. 

Though the play itself was impressive, the stars shined brighter than ever tonight, with Jason Kidd obtaining his 104^th triple double. He hit a dry spell in the middle of the game, but all was forgotten as he put in clutch three after clutch three. Dirk was reliable throughout, hitting key shots when they mattered most, including a huge three in overtime. Barea, who has felt the wrath of Dallas fans for losing his spark, saw extended minutes in place of Marion at the end of the game, and made them worth it with active defense and several important layups. Terry had a respectable 17 points off the bench, and Haywood continued his impressive contribution to the Dallas lineup with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. Most exciting? Every Maverick that set foot on the hardwood tonight managed to score. 

Let's look at the quarters...

1st Quarter:

• Caron Butler still out due to his bad reaction to medication. DeShawn Stevenson will start again in his place. 
• 11:23, Jason Kidd starts the game off for the Mavericks with a long jumper for two. 
• 10:49, DeShawn Stevenson drives hard to the basket and makes a layup. He may benefit greatly from this trade as well. 
• 10:19, Shawn Marion with a resounding dunk with the assist from Kidd to take the Mavericks ahead for the first time, 6-4. 
• 8:56, Dirk Nowitzki makes a difficult turnaround jump shot from the middle of the floor to get on the board for Dallas. 
• Some sloppy passing from Dallas and good defense by the Hawks causes a turnover with a resulting fast break dunk for Atlanta. Fortunately, Kidd throws a touchdown pass down the court to Nowitzki who then hits Marion for another dunk. 
• 6:52, Dirk makes a rainbow jumper over good defense. 
• Marion has committed too many turnovers only midway through the first. He needs to get his head in the game. 
• 5:13, After a bit of bad basketball, Dirk gets a shot close in to bring the Mavs back within 3. 
• 4:24, Brendan Haywood with a nice dunk with the dime from Kidd. He must be thrilled to be playing with a pass-first PG. 
• 3:44, Dirk able to overcome great Hawks defense again for a long jumper. He’s 4 of 5 shooting with 8 points already. 
• 3:14, After a great defensive stop, the Mavs find Dirk wide open for another shot. He’s now in double figures. 
• 2:43, Terry throws a behind the back assist to Marion who flushes it home. Marion scores again after another Hawks turnover, capping a 12-0 run by the Mavericks. 
• 2:11, Terry with a huge fast break, and another great assist to Marion. They look totally different from the start of the quarter. 
• 1:36, Terry must be feeling his oats. He scores with a nice fadeaway jumper from the baseline. The run now stands at 16-0, and Dallas has scored on 14 of 16 shots. 
• Najera comes in for Haywood to close out the quarter and he provides some nice defense. 
 

2nd Quarter:

• Barea in to start the second to give Kidd a rest. 
• Not a lot going on offensively to start this quarter, but some decent stops on the defensive end. 
• 10:00, JJ Barea speeds into the lane for a layup. 
• 9:04, Terry is way too fast for the Hawks defense, and his drive to the basket takes the Mavericks up by 14. 
• Horford with a man-sized block that takes Stevenson to the ground.  
• 8:01, Terry hits a turnaround jumper off a screen. He’s 3-3. 
• 7:26, Barea hits Najera under the basket. The second unit is playing pretty well right now. 
• 6:40, Barea hits a fadeaway over Horford with the mismatch on defense. 
• Hawks claw back into the game with a 9-0 run, now only down by 3. 
• 3:47, Dirk gets his 14^th point on a beautiful jump shot. 
• Atlanta comes all the way back to take the lead after a fast break. 
• Dallas is committing too many turnovers to finish out this half. They need to tighten up. 
• 1:18, Marion stops the bleeding of a 25-6 run by the Hawks with a quick shot. 
• Dirk gets to the line with less than a minute left to play. He makes both shots. 
• :14.5, Kidd makes a clutch three to give the Mavericks back the lead, but it disappears as Marvin Williams makes the tying shot. 

3rd Quarter:

• Marion has his first shot blocked, resulting in a turnover. Fortunately the Hawks can’t take advantage of the fast break, and Dirk scores back on the Dallas end. 
• 10:44, Kidd scores on an easy jumper.  
• Both teams are just trading baskets. 
• Dirk blocks Bibby’s shot from behind. Kidd’s fast break layup is blocked, but Dirk makes it back down the floor to put back the miss. 
• 8:00, Dirk makes his automatic shot with the assist from Kidd. These two players are on their games tonight. 
• 4:58, Dirk gets himself to the line by posting up on Smith. He puts both free throws in. 
• Mavericks get three consecutive offensive rebounds, but only try for three point shots. None of them fall, and then the Hawks get the fast break. 
• Dallas has now missed 9 shots in a row, most of which were wide-open shots after the shot clock had reset. They need to settle down and play their game. 
• Dirk currently has 8 of Dallas’ 10 points in this quarter. 
• 2:40, Terry picks up a quick basket with the assist from Kidd. They are unable to get a stop on the other end, and are now down by 10. 
• 1:33, After missing in close, Haywood gets his own rebound and puts it in. 
• 24.8, Kidd attempts a circus shot but misses. He gets sent to the line, misses the first and makes the second. 
• The Mavericks fell apart in the third quarter, and are down 11. 

4th Quarter:

• 11:35, Shawn Marion starts the final quarter off with a dunk on a fast break. 
• Kidd gets called for a rare travel violation. Whatever mojo he and Dirk had at the start, Kidd is slowly losing. 
• 9:58, Terry makes a long jumper. He needs to pick his game up to pull Dallas out of their slump. 
• 9:36, Kidd takes the ball coast to coast for a score on the other end. He needs to get his groove back. 
• Nowitzki misses badly on an uncharacteristically bad shot. 
• Barea, in for Kidd, dishes down low to Haywood, but the ball is knocked out. On the inbounds pass, the ball is picked off and Barea is forced to foul. 
• 7:59, Dirk gets a wide open shot, but the Mavericks are still down 13. 
• 7:29, Terry gets a quick jumper from Kidd on the baseline. 
• 6:59, Dirk gets his 28^th point with a contested jump shot to bring the Mavs within 9. 
• 5:35, Haywood with an athletic scoop for the score. 
• 4:55, Haywood gets the rebound off of Dirk’s miss, and puts it in hard for the and-1. 
• 4:50, Terry gets a huge, timely three. 
• 4:28, Barea takes the assist from Kidd, who stole the ball right out from under Atlanta to add to the 9-0 Dallas run. 
• 3:55, Dirk with an enormous three to bring Dallas within one. Now it’s getting good! 
• 3:38, Jason Kidd gets a triple double, the 104^th of his career. 
• 2:58, Kidd makes a massive three to give Dallas the lead! I can only use exclamation points from here on out! 
• 2:10, Oh my. Kidd gets another three with the dish from Barea! 
• 1:37, Hawks coach Woodson is on the court, and Kidd runs into him to make a point. The two exchange some angry words. Dirk gets to shoot the technical free throw. He makes it. 
• :56.4, Kidd adds to his impressive stat sheet with yet another three. He is clearly on a mission after a poor showing, earlier. 
• Barea inbounds with :13.2 left in the 4^th. Two missed shots send the game into overtime. 

OT:

• 4:21, Excellent ball movement leads to a Dirk jumper. 
• 3:06, Barea coming up clutch with a nice layup to put the Mavericks up 4. If ever there were a time to peak, this is it. 
• 2:17, Haywood with a monster block to cause a jumpball with Jo Johnson. Hawks get the ball, though. 
• 1:06, We don’t call him Dirty Dirk for nothing. Dirk Nowitzki with the phenomenal clutch three. 
• :35.6, Jason Terry with the dagger-like shot. 
• :24.7, Brendan Haywood fouled on the made basket, with the beautiful pass from Dirk. He makes the extra point. 
• Dallas wins the craziest game I’ve seen in a while. 

Choice Statistic:

There is only one. Jason Kidd: 19 points, 16 rebounds, 17 assists, and 2 steals. A monster night for one of the greatest point guards ever to play the game. 

Final Thoughts

This win gives the Mavericks a 6-game win streak, which is the longest active streak in the NBA. It’s a refreshing change after the mediocre play prior to the trade. Dallas hosts the Hornets (30-28) on Sunday, where they hope to continue their excellent run of basketball.