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Nets without Kidd for matchup against Spurs

Feb 13, 2007 - 5:58 PM San Antonio (33-18) at New Jersey (25-27) 7:30 pm EST

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (Ticker) -- The New Jersey Nets have lost their last seven meetings with the San Antonio Spurs. And they will have to try and break that streak without eight-time All-Star guard Jason Kidd.

Kidd will miss the next two games with a strained lower back, team president Rod Thorn announced on Tuesday morning.

New Jersey had won three straight to pull within 2 1/2 games of the first-place Toronto Raptors in the Atlantic Division.

Unfortunately for the Nets, they will face Toronto on Wednesday without Kidd.

Rookie Marcus Williams, one of the team's two first-round picks, will likely start in Kidd's absence. He is averaging 7.4 points and 3.1 assists in 49 games.

Coach Lawrence Frank could use Eddie House or Hassan Adams to back up Williams.

San Antonio, which is 2-4 on a season-high eight-game road trip, has beaten the Nets seven straight times. The Spurs' last loss to New Jersey was a 91-82 defeat on November 13, 2002.

The Spurs allow an average of 91.4 points a game, the second-lowest total in the league. But San Antonio surrendered 100 points for the third time in its last 10 games in a 100-85 loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday.

Manu Ginobili scored 26 points to match his second-highest points total this season. He also scored 26 in a 103-101 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on January 3. Ginobili's season high is 32 in a 103-87 loss to the Phoenix Suns on February 1.