Kidd-less Nets ripped by Knicks

Stephon Marbury had seven of his nine assists in the first quarter when New York took control for good, and the Knicks rolled to a 79-65 victory over New Jersey on Friday night to snap a five-game losing streak against their cross-river rival.

"I think it was something that was definitely needed,'' center Nazr Mohammed said of the lengthy practices. "We're a team that's trying to come together, mesh better and understand what we need to do going into this playoff stretch -- you know, extraordinary measures for extraordinary times.''

Kidd (bone bruise, left knee) went on the injured list earlier in the day and Martin (knee tendinitis) also sat out, depriving the Nets of two of their three leading scorers.

The Knicks had little trouble defeating what remained of the Nets, getting 21 points from Marbury, 16 from Tim Thomas and 14 from Mohammed.

The game was New York's first since Isiah Thomas spoke to the team following their overtime victory against Washington, criticizing the Knicks for playing with a lack of urgency.

"There are opportunistic times when you can look at your team and really try to inspire and motivate them,'' Thomas said. "It's not when you feel like it, it's when you think the teams needs it, and I thought our team needed it at that time.

Thomas and coach Lenny Wilkens decided to put the team through a sort of mini-training camp, and the Knicks held two-a-day practices on Wednesday and Thursday -- an extremely rare occurrence for an NBA team this late in the season.

Thomas thought the intensive workouts might be a cure for a team that has been inconsistent and unpredictable throughout a season of change.

"In those meetings and sessions, we were able to give them tools to work within the group, to police themselves, to resolve conflict, to help one another, to give them the values to become a team and solidify,'' Thomas said. ``We asked the guys if they were willing to give the time, and they said yes.

"If you fall down, you've got to put it back together. And an hour a day in March to put it back together -- it isn't going to happen.''

The victory moved the Knicks a half-game ahead of Cleveland and Miami for sixth place in the Eastern Conference.

At times, there was a noticeable increase in intensity from the Knicks.

Ahead by 14 midway through the third quarter, Tim Thomas dived into the third row of the stands while saving a loose ball. And after New Jersey pulled within 10 midway though the fourth quarter, Penny Hardaway converted a difficult three-point play, and Michael Sweetney stole a lazy pass by Lucious Harris and then dunked a missed shot to put the Knicks ahead by 15.

"The energy level was up a lot more, everyone was more focused,'' Sweetney said.

Richard Jefferson scored 25 points for New Jersey, which could be without Kidd and Martin for an extended period. Kidd could not guarantee that he'll return before the playoffs, and Martin did not sound optimistic that he'll return soon.

"First we want to see how the knee responds to some rest, then maybe get some games in. But we won't know that until I see how I feel in the next week or two,'' Kidd said.

Kidd underwent an MRI, and team doctors planned to evaluate the tests over the weekend. The same injury sidelined the NBA leader in assists for an entire four-game Western road trip earlier this month.

"This is a serious injury,'' Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. ``If he's able to come back, he will. If he isn't, he won't.''

Martin said his tendinitis was causing the worst knee pain of his career.

``When you're without two All-Stars, you're going to struggle -- and that's what we did,'' Harris said.

The Knicks also were without a starter as Allan Houston was sidelined by abruised quadriceps muscle. He listed himself as day to day.

Notes:
The Nets dropped to 2-4 without Kidd. ... Frank sprinted down the sideline midway through the fourth quarter to argue a call, prompting referee Bill Kennedy to admonish him: ``Get back there!'' One night earlier when the Nets played Detroit, referee Mike Callahan warned Frank to stay in the coaching box. ... When former Knicks and Nets guard Michael Ray Richardson was shown on the main video screen, there was only a smattering of applause. Apparently, not many of the fans recognized the former point guard who was a three-time All-Star for New York. Ex-Knick Bernard King also attended the game andreceived a much better ovation.