The General and his sharpshooter.

Pick-and-roll or pick-and-pop; either way, Jason Kidd was the Mavericks general and Dirk Nowitzki was the assassin.

Kidd and Dirk did their best Stockton and Malone impression tonight, leading the Mavericks to a 99-90 win over our C’s at the TD Bank Garden. Led by Paul Pierce’s 11 first quarter points, Boston jumped out to an early lead, but Nowitzki found the flow in the second half and Jason Kidd knew where to find him.

Dirk scored 13 points in the third quarter on his way to 37 points for the game, on 14-22 shooting. Kidd, the ultimate point guard, took only 7 shots, but took control of the game in the second half, on his way to 17 assists, to go along with 13 points. Oft-criticized (rightfully, I might add) Mavs center Erik Dampier also provided a third quarter spark with 11 points.

Boston lead 50-41 at halftime behind strong play from Pierce, who finished with 24 points, Kendrick Perkins (14 points, 12 rebounds), and Ray Allen (21 pts). Rajon Rondo added 12 assists, but he didn’t provide Boston with his much-needed aggression, taking only 8 shots for 7 points.

The Celtics came out flat in the second half, uncharacteristically allowing open shot after open shot. The Mavericks shot a ridiculous 57.4% for the game, while clamping down defensively on Pierce and Allen in the second half.

Boston was outscored 34-18 in a schizophrenic third quarter and never challenged Dallas after relinquishing the lead.

With seven home losses already this season, Boston has more home losses than they did all last season.