WASHINGTON -- Jason Kidd finished the Washington Wizards.
Both Kidd and Jordan entered the game with 7:10 remaining, during a couple of free throws that gave the New Jersey Nets a five-point lead.
From there, Kidd took over. Kidd stole the ball from Jerry Stackhouse, converted the layup and added four more points in a 19-7 run to lead the Nets to an 87-79 victory over the Wizards on Saturday night.
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| MJ fights for the ball against the New Jersey Nets' Kenyon Martin (6) ) during the fourth quarter of the Nets' 87-79 win. (AP) |
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"The fourth quarter is winning time," New Jersey coach Byron Scott said. "J-Kidd, and they've got the best ever in Michael. Just like he took it upon himself, so did J-Kidd."
In an early matchup of teams expected to contend for the Atlantic Division title, the Nets had five players score in double figures, led by Kidd's 18 points. New Jersey is 3-0, while Washington in three games has gone from very bad to very good to not good enough to beat the defending Eastern Conference champions.
"Jason Kidd showed why he is talked about as being the MVP of the league," Washington coach Doug Collins said. "He came in and had a little stretch there of about three minutes where he just changed the game."
That's supposed to be Jordan's role. He isn't starting this season so he can be strong when the game's on the line, but he missed two of his next three shots after re-entering the game with Kidd as New Jersey built the double-digit lead.
Jordan finished with 21 points on 7-for-16 shooting in 27 minutes. Stackhouse led Washington with 23 points.
"It really is hard to say whether it's working out or not working out," said Jordan, asked about his reserve role. "We're in the games. We're competing. Myself, I'm starting to find a little groove when I get in the game, and I think that Doug is going to try to give me some longer stretches so that I can maintain a certain rhythm."
Kidd added 10 rebounds and nine assists, but he also had seven turnovers for the Nets. Kerry Kittles had 15 points in a game in which neither team shot well. New Jersey shot 39 percent from the field; Washington shot 37 percent, in part because it was rattled by the Nets' stiff defense in the second half.
"The best thing has been our defense," Scott said. "The fact that when we want to turn it on -- when guys really start to get up and start pressuring guys -- that's been our staple."
The Nets won without the fireworks they had the night before against Indiana, when three players were ejected and nine technicals called. The Wizards landed somewhere in between their awful opener against Toronto and their 45-point victory over Boston earlier this week.
"Look at the teams we've played," Collins said. "We've got eight new players. We've got five new starters. People have gone from having us in the Eastern Conference finals -- then we lose to Toronto -- to winning nine games -- then beating Boston -- to being in the Eastern Conference finals. It's like a yo-yo, and we've played three games. Nothing like instant gratification."
An even first half left the Wizards ahead 36-35. The Nets shot just 29 percent in the second quarter. Jordan played 12 minutes the half, scoring a relatively quiet seven points on 3-for-7 shooting.
The Nets took the first double-digit lead of the game in the third quarter after back-to-back transition assists from Kidd. The first was an alley-oop for Kenyon Martin, and the second set up Kittles' three-point play to make it 53-43 with 4:54 left in the third.
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