When Stephen Jackson scored a career-high 42 points against the Washington Wizards last week, it appeared that he was benefiting from an atrocious defense that yielded 138 points to the Hawks --- the most allowed in an NBA game this season. Jackson had never scored more than 30 points in his first 241 career games.

Then Jackson scored 39 against Seattle two games later and 36 in a 111-110 win against Dallas on Wednesday. In his past four games, Jackson is averaging 33.8 points and shooting 48.3 percent.

Jackson set a record for most points by a Mavericks opponent in a half with 31. He was 12-for-16 from the floor, including 3-for-4 on 3-pointers.

"A lot of my shots were wide open. We had that drive and kick working, and we were able to kill them with it," he said.

After three trades last month shook up the Hawks' roster, Jackson has emerged as their primary scorer. He becomes a free agent at the end of the season."I'm playing for a lot right now," he said.