After spending two days in bed with the flu, which struck him just before Game 4, Kenyon Martin could have blamed his four-point performance last night in Game 5 on the bug. But he wouldn't.

"I felt better than I did for the last game," Martin said. "That's just an excuse. I felt great. I just didn't play well. I'll bounce back from it."

In 38 minutes, Martin took just eight shots, making two. He had nine rebounds and didn't get to the free-throw line in a 93-83 loss. The Nets -- even with Jason Kidd scoring 29 points -- couldn't pick up the slack.

Although Martin wouldn't use his clamminess as an excuse, his teammates said it was obvious he wasn't himself.