Nets’ Victory Is Pure Kidd’s Play

Jason Kidd finished off Michael Jordan and the Washington Wizards.

Kidd and Jordan each reentered the game with 7:10 remaining, when the New Jersey Nets were making two free throws for a five-point lead.

From there, Kidd took over -- and Jordan was a nonfactor. Kidd stole the ball from Jerry Stackhouse, converted the layup and added four more points in a 19-7 run to lead the Nets over the Wizards, 87-79, Saturday night at Washington.

The Nets had five players score in double figures, led by Kidd’s 18 points. New Jersey is 3-0, and 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.”

Jordan finished with 21 points. Stackhouse led Washington with 23 points.

Orlando 100, Milwaukee 90 -- Tracy McGrady scored 47 points and the Magic ended an eight-game losing streak at Milwaukee’s Bradley Center.

McGrady came within three points of his career high of 50 points, set against Washington last season.

Indiana 87, Minnesota 80 -- Brad Miller had 22 points and 16 rebounds, and Jermaine O’Neal had 21 points and 14 rebounds to lift the Pacers at Indianapolis.

The Pacers held Kevin Garnett to 12 points on four-for-16 shooting.

Boston 117, New York 107 -- Paul Pierce scored 46 points, including 14 in the fourth quarter, for the Celtics at Madison Square Garden.

Pierce finished two points shy of his career high set last season, scoring 14 of Boston’s last 20 points.

Sacramento 116, Memphis 99 -- Vlade Divac scored 24 points, one of six Sacramento players to score in double figures at Memphis, Tenn.

The Kings had little trouble with the Grizzlies despite playing without Chris Webber, who sat out because of an abdominal strain.

Atlanta 98, Chicago 92 -- Glenn Robinson became the first Hawk to score 30 points in three consecutive games to start a season.

Jason Terry scored 23 points for the host Hawks. The Bulls fell short of their first 3-0 start since 1997.

Houston 88, Toronto 76 -- Steve Francis scored 28 points to lead the Rockets at Houston.

Toronto’s Vince Carter left with 6:17 to go in the first quarter because of a strained left knee and did not return. Carter sat out the last 14 games last season after surgery to repair the same knee.

New Orleans 100, Miami 95 -- Jamal Mashburn had 35 points at New Orleans to lead the Hornets against his former team.

Mashburn made a jump shot near the top of the key and a free throw in the last minute to stave off a rally by the Heat, which trailed by as many as 11 points in the fourth quarter after leading by 12 points at the half.

Dallas 97, Phoenix 83 -- Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points and Michael Finley scored eight of his 17 points during a third-quarter run that sparked the Mavericks in their home opener.

Dallas starter Raef LaFrentz sprained his right ankle early in the third quarter. He did not return.

Utah 101, Golden State 92 -- Karl Malone scored 26 points at Salt Lake City, and the Jazz averted its first 0-3 start since 1979.

The Jazz defeated the Warriors for the 24th time in their last 25 meetings.

Denver 96, Portland 79 -- James Posey had 19 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists at Portland, Ore., and the Nuggets won for the first time this season.

The Nuggets dominated the second half even without forward Juwan Howard, who sat out because of a stomach virus.