(Sports Network) - The Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets worked together to pull off a blockbuster trade just a few weeks ago. Now the teams will square off as adversaries tonight at the AmericanAirlines Center for the first time since the deal that landed Jason Kidd back in a Mavs uniform.

Kidd, who spent the first 2 1/2 years of his storied career with the Mavericks, was sent from New Jersey to his original club in an eight-player swap on February 19. The acquisition of the perennial All-Star point guard was expected to propel Dallas into powerhouse status in the rugged Western Conference, but the team has gone just 4-5 since the trade and is currently mired in a three-game losing streak.

After enduring close road setbacks to the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah, the Mavericks ran into a scorching Houston squad and were handed a 113-98 defeat Thursday at the AmericanAirlines Center. Tracy McGrady compiled 31 points and nine assists to fuel the Rockets to a franchise-record 17th consecutive win.

Dallas was without leading scorer Dirk Nowitzki for the contest, as the reigning league MVP served a one-game suspension for committing a flagrant foul on Utah's Andrei Kirilenko in Monday's loss to the Jazz.

Josh Howard scored 21 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the Mavs, who have slipped into seventh place in the West with the slide. Jason Terry added 17 points on the evening.

Kidd was shipped to Dallas just nine days after helping the Nets defeat the Mavericks at the Meadowlands. The veteran star amassed 13 points and 14 assists in a 101-82 New Jersey win back on February 10.

That victory was only the Nets' second in their last 15 encounters with the Mavericks. New Jersey has lost seven straight times in Dallas since a 103-102 win on March 2, 2000.

The Nets also haven't fared well since the trade, as they've lost four straight games to begin the month of March and are barely hanging onto a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The team leads Chicago and Atlanta by only one game in the race for the No. 8 seed in the East.

New Jersey's latest defeat was a 107-96 setback at New Orleans on Friday. Richard Jefferson did manage a game-high 27 points in the loss, while Vince Carter registered 19 points and 10 assists for the Nets.

The Nets have dropped the first three tests of a current five-game road trip against Southwest Division teams and are 2-14 over their last 16 contests away from home. New Jersey, which is 11-19 on the road for the year, concludes the trek Monday in Houston.

Dallas had won 12 in a row at home prior to Thursday's loss and sports a stellar 25-4 mark as the host this season. The Mavericks will be playing the second test of a five-game residency tonight.