Jason Kidd was in so much agony, he needed to put a towel in his mouth as he lay on the court, writhing on the court, his right ankle burning in pain.

For the first time all night, concern drifted through the Meadowlands for 45 agonizing seconds.

With the Nets up 11, Kidd jumped for his ninth rebound with 6:59 left, and landed on Ben Wallace's foot, twisting it horribly before crumpling to the court.

But there is nothing going to ruin this spectacular Nets' playoff march, and Kidd would make sure there was no reason to worry. He walked gingerly off the court, collected himself during the timeout and went back onto the court, telling Byron Scott he was OK.