EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The great point guard matchup between Jason Kidd and Gary Payton was a mismatch in Game 1.

Kidd schooled his playground mentor with 14 points, 14 assists and six rebounds Saturday, holding Payton scoreless for more than 31/2 quarters Saturday as the defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 109-96.

Payton 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 nationally television game in which the Nets led by 20 at halftime and 31 early in the fourth quarter.

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.

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 3-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.

There were a lot of questions about the Nets heading into the postseason.

New Jersey played sub-.500 ball after the All-Star break and dropped four of its final five to lose the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Mavericks 96,

Trail Blazers 86

DALLAS – Dirk Nowitzki was unstoppable from the start, and the Portland Trail Blazers had no chance of containing him after Rasheed Wallace went down with an ankle injury.

Nowitzki scored a career-high 46 points, including 10 during a 15-1 third-quarter run that began while Wallace was in the locker room, to carry the Dallas Mavericks past the Portland Trail Blazers 96-86 in the opener of their first-round series.

Nowitzki, who also had 10 rebounds, upped his career best by four and broke the team playoff scoring record set by assistant coach Rolando Blackman. He came within four of the most points ever scored by a Maverick.

Suns 96, Spurs 95, OT

SAN ANTONIO – Two bank shots from 3-point range – one by Amare Stoudemire late in regulation; the other by Stephon Marbury at the buzzer in overtime – gave the Phoenix Suns an unlikely victory.

Marbury banked in a running 3-pointer after Tim Duncan missed three free throws in the final 16 seconds, lifting Phoenix past the San Antonio Spurs 96-95 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series.

Marbury got the rebound after Duncan’s final miss with 5.1 seconds left and sped up the floor. He leaped from a foot outside the 3-point arc and released his shot just before the horn sounded, the ball kissing off the glass and through the net.

The win was the Suns’ fourth in five games against San Antonio this season. Two of those contests went into overtime.

The Spurs missed six of eight foul shots in overtime and managed to go only 26-for-41 (63.4 percent) at the line for the game. Duncan was 3-for-8.

Marbury led Phoenix with 26 points, 17 of them coming in the second half. Shawn Marion and Stoudemire added 24 apiece.

Stoudemire hit a 3-pointer off the glass from a nearly straightway angle with 8.4 seconds remaining in regulation to tie the score at 87-87.

It was only his third 3-pointer of the season. Duncan missed a corner jumper before the buzzer to force overtime.

Stephen Jackson paced the Spurs with 23 points, while David Robinson had 18 points on 8-for-8 shooting.

Duncan scored 17 to go with 13 rebounds.

A late 12-0 run that featured a spectacular fast-break dunk by Richard Jefferson – Kidd, of course had the assist – stretched the lead to 55-33.

Milwaukee never got close enough in the second half to make the Nets worry.

The only scary moment for New Jersey came in the opening minutes of the of the second half when Martin went down awkwardly after a collision with Marcus Haislip.

For a moment, it looked like a knee injury. After leaving the game for a couple of minutes, Martin returned and quickly drove the lane for a basket, sparking cheers of “Ken-yon Mar-tin.”

Notes: After an early defensive 3-second technical foul against the Nets, the Bucks made an odd decision in having Thomas to take the free throw. A 76 percent shooter from the line, Thomas had missed two earlier and Cassell, an 86 percent shooter, was on the floor. Thomas missed. … The Nets shot 54.2 percent from the field and outrebounded the Bucks 48-28. … Rodney Rogers added 11 points for the Nets and Jefferson had 10.

AP-ES-04-19-03 1521EDT