All-star veteran Jason Kidd had 15 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds as he led the New Jersey Nets to a 102-100 victory over the Lakers. The Nets ended their six-game losing streak after Kidd’s statement that his team has a habit of "letting go of the rope," and is playing with a "glass jaw" struck a sensitive string within his team mates who really showed they had more fight in them. The Nets are now at their third straight win.

"J. Kidd said it best. I wouldn't even disagree when he said our team has a 'glass jaw' about a week ago," Richard Jefferson said. "Teams would hit and we would just fall down. But I think guys have stepped up and taken the challenge, and we're showing more fight."

Jefferson was the one that led the Nets in scoring as he finished with 27 points. Vince Carter followed with 19 in a reserve role and Bostjan Nachbar chipped in with 15 points, nine of them in the last quarter.

On the other side, Kobe Bryant had what he may call an average game as he finished with 31 points. He made 15 straight free throws but eventually missed a clutch foul shot with 6.1 seconds to go. He started with a 3-for-16 shooting from the field in the first quarter, but didn’t score a basket throughout the entire second and third quarters.

During his absence from the scoring list, New Jersey had turned a 14-point deficit into an 85-72 lead with a 16-3 run. Kobe recorded his next basket through a lay-up with 6:13 to play.

"They were on Kobe really well and they made it difficult for him," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

Despite the fact that he is still recovering from injury and played more as a reserve, Vince Carter ignited the final run of the Nets as he hit a three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left in the third quarter to tie it at 72. New Jersey went on to take their first lead of the game 24 seconds into the fourth as Nachbar laid it up and Jefferson capped the run on a lay-up that gave New Jersey an 84-74 lead with 8:39 remaining.

Derek Fisher scored 20 points and Lamar Odom recorded 16 before fouling out. Andrew Bynum chipped in with 12 points and 13 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough against the Nets.