EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ? A rematch of the NBA Finals was nothing like the original.

Jason Kidd had 27 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as the New Jersey Nets took control early and defeated the struggling Los Angeles Lakers — the team that swept them in the finals — 98-71 Thursday night.

The events of last June were still on the minds of the Nets as they played before their first sellout crowd of the season, but New Jersey bore little resemblance to the squad that went down so humbly in the championship series.

The Nets went ahead by 17 in the second quarter and stayed in control the rest of the way, with Kidd hitting a succession of shots late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to prevent the Lakers from getting within striking distance.

“We as a team understand what happened last year, but this was a regular-season game,” Kidd said. “Everybody is talking about revenge, but this was more or less trying to protect home court and trying to get off a two-game losing skid.”

The loss dropped the Lakers’ road record to 2-12, including 0-6 against teams from the East.

Los Angeles is 10-17 — the 11th best record in the competitive Western Conference.

“We were talking yesterday about what our position was as a basketball club, how unbelievable it is to think that we could be in 11th place,” coach Phil Jackson said. “Someone said: ‘We’re not an 11th-place team.’ And I said ‘Yeah, we are, we’re an 11th-place team. We have to face that reality. That’s exactly what we are.”

New Jersey nets' Jason Kidd, right, drives to the basket as he is guarded by the Lakers' Derek Fisher during the first quarter. The Nets won, 98-71, on Thursday in East Rutherford, N.J.

The Lakers certainly didn’t show any of the form that led them to three consecutive NBA championships, but that’s nothing new this season for a team that’s experiencing more hardship than it has in years.

Kobe Bryant was 5-for-18 in the first half and finished with 21 points on 8-for-29 shooting, while Shaquille O’Neal took only seven shots in the first half against New Jersey’s double- and triple-coverage and finished with 19 points.

“It was better tonight. I’m being totally honest with you, it was better tonight,” Bryant said.

Exactly what was better was hard to discern, although Jackson credited his team for playing with a competitive edge.

“This team is slowly getting some life behind it,” Jackson said. “Some of our players played tense and tight, and as a result we were unable to make the right plays at the right time.

Lucious Harris scored 19 and Kenyon Martin 16 for the Nets, who improved 13-1 at home.

The Lakers missed 12 of their first 13 shots before O’Neal had a dunk and a layup on consecutive possessions for a 10-9 lead. Bryant finished 1-for-8 in the first quarter and Los Angeles shot just 27 percent as it trailed 21-18.

Referee Joey Crawford helped the Nets get a five-point play early in the second. Rodney Rogers was fouled by Robert Horry on a drive to the basket, and official Violet Palmer waved the shot off.

Crawford, however, overruled her and counted the basket. As Rogers sank the foul shot to complete a three-point play, Crawford whistled technical fouls on Jackson and Horry. Kidd made both free throws for a 28-20 lead.

New Jersey stretched its advantage to 42-25 on an alley-oop dunk from Kidd to Richard Jefferson before the Lakers cut their deficit to nine, 46-37, at intermission. O’Neal scored 10 points in the third quarter as the Lakers tried to seize the momentum, but Kidd prevented it by making two jumpers and drawing a charge in the final 2 minutes to help the Nets take a 68-59 lead into the fourth.

O’Neal started the fourth quarter with a dunk to make it 68-61, but Jefferson hit two foul shots, Kidd made consecutive jumpers and Rodney Rogers scored inside to put the Nets ahead by 15.

New Jersey outscored the Lakers 30-12 in the fourth quarter to account for the final 27-point margin.

“It’s another victory that helps our home record and gets us going again,” Jefferson said. “This game did not give us any redemption for losing in the finals last season.”

Spurs 83, Kings 81

Sacramento, Calif. — Tim Duncan had 23 points and 14 rebounds as the San Antonio Spurs spoiled Sacramento’s perfect home record and ruined Mike Bibby’s return, beating the Kings 83-81 Thursday night.

Stephen Jackson scored 18 points as the Spurs followed a victory in Seattle by winning in the NBA’s toughest road arena one night later.

The Kings had won their first 13 games at Arco Arena, where they’re 80-14 over the past three seasons, but they gave one of their most lifeless performances in years on the same night their injury-plagued roster became nearly whole.

Sacramento shot less than 35 percent. The Spurs committed 18 turnovers, but Duncan had another outstanding game and San Antonio hung on by allowing the Kings to make several turnovers and poor shots in the closing minutes.

The Spurs didn’t have a field goal in the final 3:36, but the Kings botched repeated opportunities to get back in the game. With 12 seconds left and Sacramento down 81-78, Bobby Jackson inexplicably drove the lane and made a wild pass that was intercepted by Stephen Jackson, who hit two free throws with 10.1 seconds left.

Bobby Jackson hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Bibby missed the Kings’ first 27 games after breaking his foot in the preseason. He hit a long jumper on Sacramento’s first possession and finished with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting.