EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ? The point guard matchup between Jason Kidd and Gary Payton was a mismatch.

Kidd schooled his playground mentor with 14 points, 14 assists and six rebounds, holding Payton scoreless for more than 3 1/2 quarters Saturday as defending Eastern Conference champ New Jersey beat Milwaukee 109-96 in the first game of their playoff series.

“He set the tone,” Payton said of Kidd. “He made shots and got assists. He scored 14 points in the first quarter. His whole team played well.”

The Bucks didn’t, particularly Payton.

The perennial All-Star didn’t score until there was 4:10 to go, drawing a derisive cheer from those left in the crowd of 16,102. He finished with eight points, 10 assists and five turnovers in a game in which the Nets led by 20 at halftime and 31 early in the fourth quarter.

“They’ve had plenty of battles in their days,” Nets coach Byron Scott said. “They look forward to playing each other because of their competitive nature. Today Jason got the best of him. If you know anything about Gary Payton and how competitive he is, you know he’s going to come back with a vengeance.”

Kenyon Martin, who took an awkward fall under the basket early in the third quarter, returned quickly and had 21 points and 15 rebounds in leading seven Nets in double figures.

New Jersey's Jason Kidd, right, beats Milwaukee's Gary Payton to a loose ball. Kidd had a double-double Saturday at East Rutherford, N.J., to lead the Nets to a 109-96 victory in the opener of their first-round playoff series.

Kerry Kittles had 18, Lucious Harris 17 and Jason Collins added 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Tuesday.

Tim Thomas played well in garbage time, making five three-pointers in the fourth quarter when he scored 19 of his 25 points.

Former Net Sam Cassell added 16 points for the Bucks, who looked nothing like the team that won eight of nine down the stretch to take the No. 7 seed. New Jersey had dropped four of its final five to lose the top seed in the East.