In praise of Dirk and Kidd

With the lateness of the overtime, most of the quality quotes about this playing-with-fire victory won't be in your morning newspaper.

But that's the beauty of the blog.

Rick Carlisle on Dirk Nowitzki, who had 41 points and 12 in the fourth quarter when the Mavericks overcame an 87-75 deficit in the final five minutes: "Dirk was sensational. He made play after play. He was scoring or making passes for shots.

"Look, we got out of here alive. It's pretty much that simple. There are some things we were guilty of that put us in a bad position in the game. We've got to continue to address those things. But I'm happy to win.''

Dirk Nowitzki on Kidd's two fourth-quarter 3-pointers: "It's funny. I said to him when we were both out of the game and were on the sidelines in the fourth quarter: Do you have one shot in you? He said: Yes, that's about all I've got tonight. I knew (Russell) Westbrook would leave him as soon as I turned my back, so I was able to deliver the ball to J-Kidd and he knocked it down. That's why he's a hall of famer for us.''

--Eddie Sefko