Jason Kidd was in so much agony, he put a towel in his mouth as he lay on the court, writhing, his right ankle burning in pain. For the first time all night, concern drifted through the Meadowlands for 90 agonizing seconds.
With the Nets up 11, Kidd went up for his 10th rebound with 6:59 left, and landed on Ben Wallace’s foot, twisting it badly before crumpling to the court.
But there is nothing going to ruin this spectacular Nets’ playoff march. Kidd arose, walked gingerly off the court to a standing ovation and chants of “MVP”, collected himself during the timeout and went back onto the court.
Kidd erased the worry very quickly, scoring eight straight points, burying three 18-foot jumpers, providing another inspirational moment in their sweep-clinching, 102-82 romp over the Pistons that launched them to Texas for a second straight Finals.
Kidd may well be going to San Antonio, but playing against the Spurs in the NBA Finals, not joining them.
“I’m sure he’ll be sore for three, four days,” Scott said. “It’s good this series is over.”
“He’s not one to go down,” Joumana Kidd said afterward. “He usually pops up from anything. So, yeah, I was worried, but he’s fine now.”
At first, Kidd looked gimpy on the first two possessions but then adrenaline took over. His jumper with 3:11 left gave the Knicks a 96-75 lead with 3:11 left.
“After he got hurt our guys had a lift,” Scott said. “The crowd went crazy when he was back in. The guys fed off that. And we went on an unbelievable run. Like Kenyon [Martin], he’s one of our toughest players.”
“I asked him if he wanted me to bring A.J. [Johnson] in. He said, ‘No. I didn’t feel too bad.’ I knew he was going to get it out. I also knew we had to win the game so he could get some rest.”
Kidd said he wasn’t too hampered and didn’t walk with a limp afterward. Regarding the incident, Kidd said, “I was relaxed because I didn’t realize anyone was behind me. I tried to keep my composure and take a deep breath. My one and only goal was to be able to stand up on my own and walk to the bench.
“Right now I need some time to regroup and get healthy.”
Kidd, who finished with 26 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, came out with 3:00 left as a roaring thunder of an ovation shook the Meadowlands.
Towel on his head, Kidd made his way down the bench, high-fiveing every one of his teammates along the way.
