EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. – The Nets got out and ran, and the Golden State Warriors couldn’t keep up.

Jason Kidd fell one rebound shy of a triple-double, finishing with 24 points and 13 assists to lead the Nets over the Warriors 118-90 last night.

Vince Carter scored 25 points for the Nets, who had their best first quarter of the season and never trailed. Nenad Krstic and Richard Jefferson each added 17 points.

The Nets relied on the fast break when they won consecutive Eastern Conference titles in 2002 and 2003.

“It was just like the good old days,” Jefferson said. “When I’m out there running, then that’s when I’m playing my best. It felt so good out there. We showed that we still have the ability to get out there.”

The Nets shot a season-high 58% in their easiest victory of the season and have won two straight at home after dropping the previous four. Kidd has 68 career triple-doubles.

“More or less, we’ve all been waiting for something like this to happen,” Kidd said. “I think we’ve showed that we all can have some success at the same time. We showed our running game and proved that we don’t have to play halfcourt.”

Troy Murphy, a New Jersey native, led the Warriors with 19 points. Baron Davis added 18, but Golden State lost for the fourth time in six games.

The Nets made 16 of their first 18 shots en route to their best one-quarter scoring performance of the year. They used a 13-0 run during a 2:08 stretch to turn a two-point lead into a 37-22 advantage and led 37-24 after the period.

New Jersey increased its lead to 66-39 at halftime. Jefferson had 10 points in the second quarter, with the highlight an alley-oop dunk on a pass from Kidd. The Nets ended the first half shooting 64% from the floor, their best shooting half of the season.

“I think it’s all about being focused, just coming out and playing basketball, having fun,” Carter said. “We put aside all the negative stuff and just relaxed. Everything looked different because we were playing loose. We’re not so uptight and worried about what happened in the past. Getting out and running, playing aggressive, focusing on relaxing. That’s the difference.”

The Nets extended the lead to 81-50 at one point in the third quarter.

Before yesterday, the Nets’ most lopsided victory this season was a 13-point win at Charlotte on December 7. New Jersey’s prior best shooting performance was 56% at Cleveland on December 9.