NBA Roundup

Friday, February 21st 2003, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey (AP) _ Jason Kidd scored 18 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter while being defended by Ron Artest as the New Jersey Nets rallied to a 98-91 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Thursday.

Kidd added 12 assists and nine rebounds in almost single-handedly rallying the Nets from a 15-point third-quarter deficit.

Tempers flared repeatedly and the officiating crew called six technicals and one flagrant foul. Artest, the Pacers' bad boy, got the flagrant and a technical, and generally seemed a little out of control.

Kenyon Martin added 19 points _ 15 in the first half _ for the Nets, who limited Indiana to 12-for-39 shooting (31 percent) in the second half.

Reserve Al Harrington had 22 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Pacers, who dropped their third straight game. Jermaine O'Neal and Brad Miller had 18 apiece and Reggie Miller added 14.

Mavericks 97, Spurs 87

In Dallas, Steve Nash had 29 points and 10 assists as Dallas held on to beat San Antonio, ending the Spurs' nine-game winning streak.

San Antonio set an NBA record with eight straight road wins on the same trip, including victories at Sacramento and the Los Angeles Lakers, before returning home for a 101-76 victory Tuesday night against Denver.

The Mavericks were able to hold Tim Duncan to 11 points. Duncan was fouled hard by Michael Finley, and walked unaided to the locker room after staying down for a couple of minutes.

While Duncan's eye was swollen and remained sore after the game, Spurs officials said there were no scratches or other damage to the eye. He will be checked Friday.

Once play resumed, Tony Parker hit a 3-pointer. Malik Rose scored eight of his 25 points in the run, including two free throws with 3:08 left to pull the Spurs within 84-82 _ the closest they would get.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points while playing 37 minutes, and Finley added 19 points for Dallas.

Kings 105, Celtics 83

In Sacramento, California, Doug Christie had 18 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, and Keon Clark had 18 points and nine rebounds as Sacramento beat Boston.

Vlade Divac had 16 points as the Kings improved to 22-5 at home. The Celtics' most successful West Coast road trip in 12 years ended with a thud.

Paul Pierce had 22 points and 12 rebounds for Boston, which had won four of the first five games on the trip. But the Celtics shot less than 35 percent and were put away early by the Kings, whose five starters and reserve Hedo Turkoglu all scored in double figures.

Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic scored 12 points apiece for the Kings, who won for the fourth time in five games on a seven-game homestand.