EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. - The Nets are showing Rod Thorn made the right decision by firing Byron Scott and hiring Lawrence Frank.
Jason Kidd had 18 points, 13 assists, six rebounds and a 3-pointer that cracked the 100-point mark at the end of third quarter, leading the Nets to 120-99 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.
The Nets won their seventh straight and sixth in a row since Frank took over the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions less than two weeks ago.
"You have to give him credit," veteran guard Lucious Harris said of Frank. "He has turned us around. He gave us a new focus. You have to give most of the credit to him. He has focused on small details every day, no matter how well we play."
The six wins to start a coaching career are three shy of the NBA record shared by Kurt Rambis in 1998-99 with the Lakers and Buddy Jeannette with the Baltimore Bullets in 1947.
As he has done after each win, Frank gave all the credit to his players.
"This is a very unique group," Frank said. "Not to demean anyone else in the NBA, I would find it hard to find in any other locker room the type of character we have and the oneness in the sense of having one agenda: winning."
This one was easy, as the Magic played without All-Star guard Tracy McGrady (back spasms) for the second straight game.
The Nets' points, 41 assists, 59.8 shooting percentage and 64 points in the paint were season highs. The assist total was a league high, one more than Dallas had against New Orleans on Nov. 11.
"It doesn't stop; that's our motto this week," Kidd said. "The team is relaxed. It feels very confident. We have that swagger back as K-Mart (Kenyon Martin) mentioned and we are a little more serious now."
Frank got contributions from everyone as New Jersey won by double digits for the seventh straight game.
Kerry Kittles made six of his first seven shots and scored 12 of his 17 in the first quarter. Martin had 18 points and 15 rebounds for his fourth straight double double.
WOLVES 103, CAVS 92: Kevin Garnett had 35 points and 12 rebounds, including a 10-point, seven-rebound fourth quarter that helped Minnesota overtake Cleveland.
Latrell Sprewell had 24 points, seven assists and a hand in LeBron James' face most of the night for the Timberwolves, who won their 14th straight at home and are an NBA-best 26-6 since Dec.1.
HORNETS 92, PISTONS 81: Jamal Mashburn scored 12 of his 22 in the fourth quarter to help host New Orleans snap a four-game losing streak.
After shooting 4-of-17 from the floor through three quarters, Mashburn hit a 3-pointer to snap a 10-0 Detroit run. He made two more shots and five free throws as the Hornets handed the Pistons their second straight loss.
PACERS 83, RAPTORS 77: Ron Artest scored 27, Jermaine O'Neal 20 and Al Harrington 19 as Eastern Conference-leading Indiana won for the fourth time in five games.
Jamaal Tinsley scored five of Indiana's last seven after host Toronto closed within two. O'Neal, who vowed to have a better game after shooting 6-of-20 from the field in a loss to New York on Tuesday, added 14 rebounds.
WIZARDS 112, CLIPPERS 110: Gilbert Arenas scored 25 and Jerry Stackhouse 23, and Washington scored 25 of the game's first 28 to end Los Angeles' three-game road winning streak. Kwame Brown added 22 points and Larry Hughes 21 points and 12 rebounds.
The Clippers, bidding for their first four-game road winning streak since March 1982, got 24 points from Quentin Richardson and 22 from Corey Maggette.
GRIZZLIES 105, BUCKS 85: Pau Gasol, booed in his last home game, had 27 points and 12 rebounds as Memphis tied a franchise record with its 28th victory, matching last season's total.
Grizzlies guard Mike Miller reinjured his back in a second-quarter collision with Desmond Mason. He is day to day.
SONICS 107, SUNS 105: Ray Allen had 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists before injuring his shoulder late in the game for visiting Seattle. Allen fell when he ran into Jake Voskuhl's screen. X-rays were negative.
HAWKS 100, CELTICS 96: Shareef Adbur-Rahim scored 23 and Stephen Jackson 22 as visiting Atlanta won consecutive games for the first time this season.
ROCKETS 82, BULLS 80: Jim Jackson sank a 22-foot jumper at the buzzer to lift host Houston. Yao Ming led the Rockets with 22 points.
BLAZERS 87, JAZZ 73: Zach Randolph had 19 points and 14 rebounds to lead surging Portland to its sixth victory in its past seven road games.
WARRIORS 96, NUGGETS 87: Speedy Claxton scored 17 of his career-high 25 in the fourth quarter, and short-handed Golden State snapped visiting Denver's three-game winning streak.
SHAQ SUED: Daytona Harley-Davidson is suing Lakers star Shaquille O'Neal for breach of contract, claiming he reneged on the purchase of a custom motorcycle. The dealership filed the suit in circuit court, seeking at least $15,000 in damages against O'Neal, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported.
The bike was specially built for a person of O'Neal's 7-foot-1, 340-pound build. In the suit, the company says "delays in production" ensued as a result of repeated changes requested by O'Neal. The motorcycle was delivered to O'Neal on Sept. 12, 2003, but he refused to pay, the suit claims.
ALL-STAR BUMMER: Magic Johnson loves what teenagers LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony have accomplished as rookies and is disappointed they weren't picked to play in the Feb. 15 All-Star Game. "LeBron and Carmelo have brought so much interest, they should have made it," Johnson said. "They backed it up with their game. You can't tell me they shouldn't be part of the game."
SWITCHING LEAGUES: John Shumate, who coached the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury to its worst record last season, left to rejoin the NBA's Suns as a college scout.
