Nets Tower Over Knicks At the Point "When Stephon Marbury proclaimed on Dec. 31 that he was the best point guard in the N.B.A., many eyes rolled on the other side of the Hudson River. The Nets believe their point guard, Jason Kidd, is the best in the league. If the Nets' record against the Knicks since 2001, when Kidd was obtained from Phoenix for Marbury, is any indication, there is no comparison between them. Kidd recorded his 66th career triple-double Thursday night to lead the Nets to a 110-98 rout of the Knicks at Continental Arena. Afterward, Kidd took a parting shot at the Knicks, whom the Nets have defeated in 19 of their last 22 meetings, including 17 of 20 times with Kidd in the lineup. When asked if he still gets fired up to play the Knicks, Kidd said, ''I did when I first got here, but it doesn't excite me anymore.'' He was asked why. ''It's just another bad team, that's why,'' Kidd said. ''I don't get excited for bad teams.'' The Knicks (29-45) lost their eighth straight game, a season high, and are one defeat or one Philadelphia victory from being eliminated from playoff contention. The Nets (37-39), who have won 10 of their last 13 games, pulled to one game behind Philadelphia (37-37) for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. With six games remaining in the regular season, the Nets, who have a game remaining with the 76ers, are only two games behind the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers (38-36) for seventh place. The Nets trail the 76ers by two games in the loss column, the Cavaliers by three. Including last season's first-round playoff sweep, the Nets are 8-2 against the Knicks since they acquired Marbury from Phoenix on Jan. 5, 2004. The Nets are 3-1 against the Knicks this season and 3-0 since Marbury made his remarks. When asked if he felt satisfied with the Nets' performance, Kidd, who tied a season high with 28 points, said: ''No. It's just New York. Why would we be satisfied with beating New York? We've done it 19 or 20 times now.'' Referring to the Knicks' status in the metropolitan area, Kidd said: ''They're second place. They're behind us. So get excited? No.'' Kidd also had 10 rebounds and 12 assists for is seventh triple-double of the season and 28th in four seasons with the Nets. Marbury did not have a bad game, finishing with a team-high 30 points and 9 assists. He sat most of the first quarter because of early foul trouble but scored 21 points in the second half as the Knicks whittled a 27-point third-quarter deficit to 97-91 with under six minutes to play in the game. The Nets were leading by 99-92 with about 4 minutes 28 seconds remaining when Kidd just beat the 24-second clock with a 17-footer. He then buried a 3-pointer from the left corner to give the Nets a 104-92 lead with 3:59 left and ensured another Knicks defeat. The Nets' Vince Carter, who sat out 10:45 in the first half -- almost an entire quarter -- after picking up two quick fouls, scored 23 of his game-high 32 points in the second half. When Carter scores 30 or more points, the Nets are 16-4. When Marbury scores 30 or more points, the Knicks are 5-12. Kidd, meanwhile, moved past Lenny Wilkens into ninth place on the N.B.A. career assists list. Kidd has 7,221 assists in 780 games. Wilkens, who is enshrined in the basketball Hall of Fame as a player and a coach, had 7,211 assists in 1,077 games. Wilkens resigned as the Knicks' coach on Jan. 22. When the Nets' public-address announcer informed the crowd of 17,533 of Kidd's milestone early in the third quarter, it was clear that no one on this side of the Hudson had forgotten Marbury's remarks. REBOUNDS Nets Coach Lawrence Frank said before the game that Richard Jefferson, who has not played since he had surgery on Jan. 11 to repair ruptured ligaments in his left wrist, ''is probably ahead of schedule.'' When told of Frank's comments before the game, Jefferson said: ''Surprised? I said I was going to be back. And now they're saying I'm ahead of schedule.'' Jefferson, who led the Nets with an average of 22.2 points a game when he was injured, has repeatedly said his goal is to return before the end of the regular season on April 20. PRO BASKETBALL"