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Kidd records another triple-double as Nets edge Sixers

Nov 4, 2007 - 3:03 AM PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Jason Kidd reminded the Philadelphia 76ers why he is an elite player. But more importantly, he helped the New Jersey Nets recover from a brutal loss.

Playing with a nagging thigh injury, Kidd collected 16 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists - his 88th career triple-double - as the Nets held off the 76ers with a 93-88 victory at the Wachovia Center on Saturday night.

Richard Jefferson scored 22 points and Vince Carter added 18 for New Jersey, which dropped an embarrassing 106-69 decision to the Toronto Raptors on Friday night.

"The best thing that could happen to this team is to come out tonight and just redeem yourself," Jefferson said. "Tonight we showed a little bit to grind it out against a young, talented team that plays extremely hard."

"We didn't show up yesterday," Kidd said. "We bounced back and we got a win on the road. You got to bring your 'A' game in the East. Tonight, it was a big win for us."

In that contest, the Nets shot just 37 percent (25-of-68) from the floor and had just one player - Jefferson with 27 - manage double figures in points.

But Kidd made sure it was a different story in this one - even though it wasn't certain if he would play.

"We gave it a go tonight," Kidd said. "The trainer asked if I wanted to give it a go and I said, 'I'll try and see what happens.' It bothered me last night but, that was no excuse. If you suit up, you've got to play."

The 34-year-old point guard, who seemingly has improved with age, showed why he is one of the premier floor generals in the history of the NBA - moving closer to Hall of Famers Oscar Robertson (181) and Magic Johnson (138) in career triple-doubles.

Notching double figures in three statistical categories for the 50th time with the Nets, Kidd was flawless with the ball in the fourth quarter as New Jersey held off a pesky Philadelphia squad.

"I came out a little bit more aggressive," Kidd said. "I got spoiled playing with some of the best players in the world (with Team USA at the FIBA Americas), and I might not have been in that form of not being aggressive and taking the shot.

"Tonight, I took shots that presented themselves. I made a couple early and it went from there."

Nets coach Lawrence Frank had nothing but praise for his star guard.

"Jason's performance and ability to respond in big games is why he is our captain," Frank said. "He imposed his will on the game. He is the leader of our team. And our guys play off of him."

Despite Kidd's performance, the Nets needed some timely outside shooting to secure the victory.

A pair of 3-pointers by reserve sharpshooter Bostjan Nachbar gave the Nets a 75-67 lead with 8:57 to play in the fourth. Kidd then hit a big shot from the arc to make it 86-80 with just under three minutes left. All three shots thwarted a comeback and switched the momentum.

"We do have a deep team that has a lot of guys that can big shots," Nachbar said. "That's an advantage that we have this year. The bench proved that, in this game, that it doesn't have to be Vince or R.J. (Jefferson) to make those shots."

"Just being able to take a punch and deliver a knockout blow was big," Carter said. "They are going to make a run, but we stopped the bleeding. Everybody focused in."

New Jersey began the third with two straight hoops to take an eight-point lead on a layup by Jefferson with 10:51 to play. Philadelphia then got a pair of baskets from Andre Miller that keyed a 10-0 run for a 44-42 lead with 8:15 remaining.

The Nets answered with two straight buckets by reserve Malik Allen and a 3-pointer by Carter - who scored 10 points in the quarter - to regain the lead at 49-46. Kidd's shot from the arc with just over three minutes to play pushed the Nets' lead to 60-52.

"New Jersey is a veteran team," Sixers coach Maurice Cheeks said. "They've been through a lot and they know how to make plays down the stretch."

Another 3-pointer by Carter, who shot 2-of-4 from the arc, staked New Jersey to a 67-57 lead entering the fourth.

Andre Iguodala scored 16 points and Kyle Korver added 11 and 11 rebounds for the Sixers, who had six players score in double figures.