EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., May 24 (Ticker) -- Jason Kidd and the New Jersey Nets ran right past the Detroit Pistons and back into the NBA Finals.
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Kidd collected 26 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists as the Nets completed a sweep of the Eastern Conference Finals with a 102-82 victory over the sputtering Pistons.
The Nets won their 10th straight playoff game -- the fourth-longest streak in NBA history -- as they completed their second straight series sweep. They will have 10 days off until visiting San Antonio or Dallas on June 4.
After winning a pair of squeakers in Detroit, the Nets returned home and twice ran the Pistons off the court at Continental Airlines Arena. They had 51 fast-break points to four for the Pistons, who came in sporting the NBA's top defense.
Leading the charge was Kidd, who never seems to stop running. In the last two games, the All-Star point guard had 60 points, 24 rebounds and 13 assists.
Not even an ankle injury could slow down Kidd. With just under seven minutes to go, he rose for a rebound and twisted his right ankle as he landed on the right foot of Pistons center Ben Wallace. Grabbing his foot while on the floor, he brought a collective gasp from the sellout crowd.
But Kidd got up on his own, never left the game and scored the last eight Nets points in a 13-1 spurt that sealed it at 96-75 with 3:10 to go. He departed seconds later to a standing ovation.
Kenyon Martin and Richard Jefferson scored 14 points each for the second-seeded Nets, who shot 53 percent (42-of-79) from the field and held a 19-0 advantage in fast-break points as they became the only team in the series to score in triple digits.
Clifford Robinson scored 21 points and Richard Hamilton added 20 for the top-seeded Pistons, who had reached the conference finals for the first time since 1991, when they were swept by Chicago. This marked the ninth time Detroit has been swept out of the playoffs.