Charlotte, N.C. ? Unless they find a way to stop Jason Kidd, the Hornets will never play another game in Charlotte.

His right eye swollen, bruised and bandaged, Kidd looked like a battered boxer Sunday as he led the New Jersey Nets to an 89-79 victory in what may have been the Hornets’ final game in Charlotte.

Kidd scored 24 points and made eight free throws in the fourth quarter as the Nets made all the big plays down the stretch to open 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Game 5 is Wednesday in New Jersey, where a victory would put the Nets in the conference finals for the first time in team history and would end the Hornets’ 14-year era in Charlotte.

“If we don’t believe, then there’s no point in even going to New Jersey,” Charlotte captain David Wesley said. “

The team is relocating to New Orleans next season, and the 13,864 fans more than 6,000 short of capacity gave them a standing ovation as the game wound down. With the finality of it all setting in, they crowded the tunnel, applauding the players as the Hornets ran to the locker room.

“I’m confident we can still win the series,” said guard Baron Davis, who led the Hornets with 20 points.

The game belonged to Kidd, who opened a gash above his eye in a head-to-head collision with Wesley in Game 3.

He was a game-time decision because no one was sure how swollen his right eye would be.

“When I woke up with my eye closed, I had some doubt about playing,” Kidd said.

But the swelling eventually went down. So with a lot of puffiness, heavy bandages covering the stitches in his eyebrow and a deep purple bruise below it, Kidd looked to be on the mark when he hit his first shot, an 18-foot jumper.

It turned out to be a false sign. After missing his first six three-point attempts, he made one midway through the fourth and scored on a fast-break layup that drew a foul and gave the Nets a 78-69 lead with 6:07 to play. He made critical free throws down the stretch, going 11-of-14 at the line.

The Hornets had their own problems. Jamal Mashburn was sidelined with a virus for the seventh straight game. Center Elden Campbell was hit with a 24-hour virus on Saturday and had to play his way through that. He finished with just seven points and six rebounds.

Kerry Kittles had 20 points for New Jersey and Keith Van Horn added 16.