As Kenyon Martin took his courtside seat here at U-Mass Boston for last night's Nets' summer-league game, the Beantown fans booed heartily. Martin, in sign language, responded by making the shape of a "4" and "0", representing the Nets' postseason sweep of the Celtics.

The Nets beat up the Celtics in the playoffs and now are kicking their butts in the summer with the re-signing of Jason Kidd and capture of Alonzo Mourning. Last night, their summer-league team beat the LeBron James-less Cavaliers, 71-63, behind the continued excellence of Donny Marshall (22 points), whose showing he's more than Kidd's buddy. First-rounder Zoran Planinic added 11 points with three assists and seven boards.

Beforehand, Celtics coach Jim O'Brien admitted, "I would say them being overwhelming favorites [in the East] is an accurate term."

Several league officials believe Mourning was too much of a gamble because of his kidney disease. O'Brien isn't among them. The Celtics aren't using their $4.9 million mid-level exception because of luxury-tax reasons.

"It's a risk worth taking," O'Brien said of the Mourning signing.