EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – Jason Kidd scored 23 points and made a season-high five 3-pointers to help the Nets beat the injury-depleted Indiana Pacers 97-92 yesterday.

Vince Carter added 24 points and Nenad Krstic had 20 for the Nets, who snapped a three-game skid and won for the 11th time in their last 14 games.

Richard Jefferson, who had missed the last three games – all losses – with back spasms, shot 4-for-13 and finished with 11 points.

Austin Croshere led Indiana with 17 points and teammates Anthony Johnson and Fred Jones scored 16 apiece.

The Nets returned home after their 0-3 road trip to find an ideal opponent in the Pacers,who began the day tied for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference behind Detroit and Miami, but were missing Jamaal Tinsley (elbow) and Jermaine O’Neal (ankle). Indiana also has not had the services of forward Ron Artest since last month when he publicly asked to be traded.

Despite playing without enough healthy bodies to have a five-on-five scrimmage, the Pacers hung with the Nets until the final minutes, at one point whittling a 17-point deficit to six at 60-54 early in the third quarter.

But the Nets pulled away again, taking a 76-61 lead on a jumper by Kidd followed by his fifth 3-pointer of the game and leading 77-65 at the close of the quarter. Indiana gradually pulled closer again in the fourth quarter and trailed 81-75 after a drive by Fred Jones.

Krstic and Carter then scored eight points sandwiched around a free throw by Croshere and the lead was back to 13.

Indiana closed to 94-89 on Sarunas Jasikevicius’s drive with 21 seconds left, but Carter made one of two free throws.

The Nets raced to a 31-19 lead after one quarter as Carter had 11 points and Jefferson showed his back was up to the challenge with a dunk over Danny Granger. Indiana closed the gap to 37-35 in the second quarter, but Carter and Kidd led a 21-8 run to the end of the half to give New Jersey a 58-43 lead.