Though it was a little sloppier than needed, the Dallas Mavericks celebrated having a completely healthy roster for the first time in weeks by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 104-97 at the Target Center on Friday. Minnesota made a run or two throughout the night, but it was the Mavericks who stepped up with a response to every threat thrown at them.

The most noteworthy development for the Mavs over the last few days has been the return of starting point guard Jason Kidd, who had missed six games with a strained calf before playing against Minnesota on Friday. Kidd filled up the box score as he usually does with eight points, 10 assists, and five rebounds, but was a tad careless with the ball as he also turned in eight turnovers.

Whether it was taking the presence of young stud point guard Ricky Rubio as a personal challenge or just shaking off a little rust, Kidd showed he was feeling comfortable enough to fling the ball all over the court even if it meant a few passes sailed into the third row.

Test number two for the healthy Mavericks would come just a night later back at the American Airlines Center against the always feisty 15-12 Portland Trailblazers. There’s no doubt that Portland would be looking for some payback in their first meeting with Dallas since the Mavs knocked them out of the playoffs in the first round last year. Only one thing was for sure in this meeting: due to his retirement, Brandon Roy wasn’t going to lead the Blazers to a miracle comeback like he did last spring.

Breathe easy Mavs fans.

Luckily for the Mavericks, Portland is a different team on the road than they are at home and that Portland team is the one who showed up at the AAC. Unluckily, a pretty sloppy version of the Mavericks was also on display Saturday night as well. After having only one turnover after the first quarter, Dallas finished the game with an uncharacteristic 23 and Portland with 15 in a game that featured a style very similar to the sluggish, slow-paced games between these two teams in last year’s playoffs. Both teams struggled offensively and only after the game became tied at 71 during the fourth quarter did the competitiveness of the teams really kick in.

With a killer schedule coming up for Dallas, the Mavericks didn’t want to waste a golden opportunity to beat a good team, especially after blowing an 18-point lead. That nearly happened in regulation after a LaMarcus Aldridge double-pump jumper tied the game at 81-81 and Dirk Nowitzki failed to answer with a jumper that was off by a hair to end the fourth quarter.

The first overtime was dominated by Jamal Crawford for the Trailblazers who consistently got wherever he wanted offensively with the slower Kidd trying to check him. Kidd does a lot of things for the Mavericks, but trying to chase around the quickest offensive player on the floor is near the bottom of that list. Again though, Aldridge came through to tie the game at 87-87 and it was Nowitzki who came up short, this time leaving two seconds on the clock for a desperation three-pointer by Crawford to just miss as the buzzer went off.

Overtime number two was owned by an unlikely source: Delonte West. West had six big points in the sixth frame and Nowitzki was finally able to put the game out of reach with a jump shot at the 16-second mark to secure the 97-94 double overtime Dallas win.

It’s rare that a game can go to two overtimes and neither team hits 100 points, but both Portland and Dallas managed that feat in a game that had fans on edge all night. In the end it was the Mavericks who held on and pushed their winning streak to three.

The Clippers come to town next as the Mavs continue their Murderer’s Row of opponents that includes Denver, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, and the Los Angeles Lakers leading up to the All Star Break.