Jason Kidd scanned the list of the minutes-played leaders. There were most of the usual suspect names: Gary Payton, Tim Duncan, Michael Finley, Ray Allen. But he noticed one particular name missing: His.

"To see my name not in the top 10 in minutes played, that's huge," the Nets point guard said yesterday. "I've probably never been in that situation before where I can rest and have the time off to see what the defense is doing and to be strong to make those shots coming down the stretch."