The undefeated Mavericks came to the Meadowlands in the midst of one of the hottest starts in recent NBA history, and they passed their toughest test to date the way Steve Nash passed the ball – with aplomb.

In a duel with superstar Jason Kidd, Nash was the point guard who took over down the stretch in Dallas’ 96-88 win.

With the Mavs playing their third game in four days, and missing five players to injury, the 28-year-old Canadian put them on his back and carried them.

With the Nets fixated on stopping Dirk Nowitzki, Nash had a game-high 30 points and nine assists. He had nine points in the final 5:15, when Dallas broke open what had been a 78-77 nail-biter.

After beating Boston and the Nets, they’re just the fifth team to open 10-0 in the last 19 years.

“We didn’t know if we had enough in the tank, but we wanted it and made enough plays down the stretch,” said Nash. “Finalists, playing on the road, we expected it to be a tough game, and it was. They hit us with a couple of punches, but we held on.”

Punches like the 17-2 run to close the third quarter, turning a 65-56 Mavs lead into a 73-67 Net edge. But after Shawn Bradley hit a tip-in, Nash found Nowitzki for an alley-oop and then made a driving layup to cut the deficit to 76-73.

His driving layup with 6:45 left gave Dallas an 80-77 lead, and he scored nine points down the stretch, while holding Kidd to a scoreless, three-turnover fourth.

“My job is to make them pay if they play Dirk like that,” Nash said. “I just tried to be aggressive, impose my will on the game. “We took this as a challenge. Streaks are nice, but our goals are higher. We want to be there at the end, have a chance to win a championship.”

Afterward, Mav owner Mark Cuban said, “It was great to see. It was like a war out there [with Kidd], and I think Kidd is the best in the league.”

And Nowitzki gushed, “He was unbelievable. He just made plays at the end. He was the reason we ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^won.”