Perhaps it's the proud Georgetown heritage. Yesterday, Dikembe Mutombo sounded a lot like his old friend Patrick Ewing in predicting a Finals victory for the Nets.

"We are going to win," the backup center said yesterday. "We are going to win (tonight) and then we are going to San Antonio and we are going to steal one and come back and have a parade. We are going to have a parade here, guys."

First, the Nets need to win tonight's pivotal Game 5 at the Meadowlands. With the series deadlocked at 2-2, a victory would put the Nets within one win of their first NBA championship, with two chances to get it in San Antonio.

And the Nets want to make sure that Jason Kidd doesn't leave for Texas without a victory. Game 5 could be Kidd's last home game as a Net. He enters free agency next month, and several members of the Nets organization are saying Kidd is staying. Many of Kidd's teammates refuse to believe that this could be the final time Kidd slips on his white uniform.