Bucks 100 – Nets 81

MILWAUKEE – This was, in Net coach Lawrence Frank’s estimation, a “gut check” game. One night after captain Jason Kidd blasted the team for a putrid effort against the Raptors, everyone was curious how the Nets would respond against the Bucks.

If they wanted to show what they were made of, this was their chance.

Basically, they responded like corpses and looked like they were made of Swiss cheese.

The 100-81 throttling at the hands of the Bucks – the 10th straight time the Nets have lost in Milwaukee – was an embarrassment, pure and simple.

Not even Vince Carter’s game-high 26 points could save face for the Nets.

Nowhere was it worse than in the third quarter, when the Bucks humiliated them. Milwaukee hit its first 10 shots, compiled a 22-4 run at one point and electrified the crowd with back-to-back dunks by Desmond Mason (15 points) off alley-oop lobs from Mike James in the final minute of the quarter.

The Nets (23-32) entered the third up 48-47. They entered the fourth down 77-63. Kidd didn’t even play in the fourth quarter.

If Kidd (11 points, seven assists) sent a message Tuesday, it fell on deaf ears. Kidd, who has sought a trade to Minnesota, stressed that he was trying to convey a sense of urgency with his rip job because, “We can lose control very fast. In two weeks, it could be over.”

Hey, a couple of more gems like this and it’ll be over by Monday.

“I wasn’t really sending a message, it was just my [view],” stressed Kidd, who never named names, leaving everything open to interpretation.

“We didn’t do what we had to do [against Toronto]. If we’re talking about making the playoffs, we have to show it.”

Said team president Rod Thorn of Kidd: “He’s a competitive guy and he can’t accept the way we played, which was awful. We just didn’t show up. I don’t know how anyone could point out individual guys. It was the whole team. We didn’t guard.”

Kidd was calm yet firm when he blistered the team defense and suggested some guys were playing for stats over victories. And if mates wanted stats, Kidd said, he’d rather just sit and watch. Last night might have been worse.

“When I said stats, I meant we could just play for stats, if we’re not trying to make the playoffs,” said Kidd. “There’s a lot of teams right now playing for stats. They’re out of the playoff race. We’re fortunate that with our record we still have a chance to not only make it into the playoffs, but be a high seed. We have to take advantage of that opportunity.”

Kidd’s “stats” barb likely was directed at Carter, who was 8-of-25 against Toronto. Carter didn’t help his case last night by launching 27 shots in 32 minutes while recording just two assists.

The Nets, who led by 12 in the first half, settled for a 48-47 lead at the break and then completely fell apart.