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Mavericks defeat Bulls in Kidd's home debut

Feb 26, 2008 - 5:39 AM DALLAS (Ticker) -- Jason Kidd did not disappoint in his first home game for the Dallas Mavericks in 11 years.

Kidd collected 11 points, nine rebounds and eight assists as the Mavericks posted a wire-to-wire, 102-94, victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night.

"I did have a couple games, but it's always a little bit nerve-racking coming back," Kidd said. "I was so excited to have this opportunity and this second chance to come back and play for the franchise. I just wanted to make a good impression at home since we've been away for a while."

Dirk Nowitzki had 29 points and 10 rebounds and Erick Dampier collected a season-high 16 rebounds and seven blocks for Dallas, which has won three straight contests.

"Damp understands that he is going to be playing more, and he is fired up about it," Mavericks coach Avery Johnson said.

Playing in his fourth game with his new club - but first at American Airlines Center - Kidd got everyone involved early as the Mavericks jumped out to an early 22-6 advantage with 4:23 remaining in the first quarter.

"The funny thing is that now you're seeing everybody passing it," Kidd said. "Everybody is touching the ball. The game becomes fun."

"He forces the issue, especially in transition," Mavericks swingman Jerry Stackhouse said of Kidd. "And I love it. I love getting out and running."

Nowitzki scored eight points during the burst and Jason Terry added five for Dallas.

"Yeah, they came out - being Jason's first game (at home) - fired up," Bulls forward Luol Deng said. "We did a good job of just staying focused and playing hard."

Ben Gordon scored nine points in the Bulls' 12-0 run, which cut their deficit to 38-33 with 5:37 left in the second period.

But Stackhouse, who finished with 23 points, knocked down a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to give Dallas a 53-43 edge at halftime.

Highlighted by a pair of 3-pointers from Nowitzki, the Mavericks went on a 10-0 burst to grab a 72-59 edge with 1:51 left in the third quarter. Before the run, the Bulls had cut the deficit to 62-59 on a pair of free throws by Gordon.

Josh Howard had 16 points for Dallas, which scored 100-plus points for the first time in eight games.

Drew Gooden, who was playing in his second game since coming to Chicago in a trade from the Cleveland Cavaliers, scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, but the Bulls could get no closer than four points down the stretch.

"I like the way we didn't quit out there tonight," Chicago interim coach Jim Boylan said. "Every time we got down, we battled right back to the end."

"We fought, we competed," Gooden said. "It was just that they knocked down open shots. They had a lot of energy tonight."

Gordon scored 25 points and Larry Hughes, who came over with Gooden, added 14 for Chicago.