Jason Kidd kept his focus. Jerry Stackhouse lost his cool.

Two very different ways to spark teams to victory.

Stackhouse wasn't around to see the end of his, getting tossed after picking up his second flagrant foul in the Dallas Mavericks' 108-105 victory over the Utah Jazz on Tuesday night.

He also was hit with a technical foul for jawing with Utah coach Jerry Sloan near midcourt and didn't hide his feelings about the Jazz.

``It's just another team that I can be passionate against,'' Stackhouse said. ``They're going to hold and grab, try to play a fake physical game.''

Kidd had 10 points, 14 assists and eight rebounds to lead the New Jersey Nets into first place with a 101-86 victory over the Toronto Raptors.

In a game that matched the top teams in the weak Atlantic Division, Kidd refused to lose his focus, even though he had filed for divorce from his wife of 10 years only hours earlier.

``There is really no distraction,'' Kidd said. ``This is my job. This is my livelihood. Anything personal, stays personal. I have a job to do and try every night to go out there and do it.''

In other games, it was: Indiana 91, Atlanta 72; Detroit 98, Philadelphia 89; Memphis 128, the Los Angeles Lakers 118; San Antonio 98, Portland 84; Phoenix 113, Seattle 102; and Cleveland 108, Sacramento 98.

At East Rutherford, N.J., the Nets dominated the first-place battle, getting 32 points from Vince Carter and 21 from Richard Jefferson.

Mikki Moore added 12 points and eight rebounds for the Nets, who shot 50 percent from the field and limited the Raptors to 38 second-half points in taking a half-game lead in the division where every team is below .500.

Kidd preferred to focus on that instead of his personal situation. He accused his wife, Joumana, of ``extreme cruelty'' throughout their marriage.

``I can't talk about my personal stuff,'' Kidd said. ``I hope you guys will respect this tough situation my family is going through and that we can resolve this as quickly as possible.''

Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 38 points as Dallas improved the best record in the NBA to 28-8 and handed Utah just its third loss in 17 home games.

But the All-Star forward credited Stackhouse, who has a history with the Jazz. In 1996, Stackhouse grabbed former Utah guard Jeff Hornacek by the throat and hit his face at least two times. After a game in 2005, Stackhouse and Utah's Kirk Snyder scuffled in a hallway near the Jazz team bus.

This time, he caught Matt Harpring square in the jaw and dropped him late in the first quarter. Stackhouse, who had 11 points, was ejected with 7.8 seconds left in the third quarter when he flagrantly fouled Jarron Collins on his way to the hoop.

``More than anything, I think Stack really set a great example for us, how he played hard and he left it all out there,'' Nowitzki said. ``That's why we have him.

``You know, he's a big key of why we went to the finals last year. He's probably one of our toughest guys out there and that (the flagrant foul calls) definitely jump-started us.''

The Mavs avenged a 101-79 loss to Utah on Dec. 11, when they shot a season-low 37.7 percent. Carlos Boozer led the Jazz with 29 points.Cavaliers 108, Kings 98

At Sacramento, Calif., LeBron James scored 34 points in the arena where he made his NBA debut, and Cleveland rallied from a 17-point deficit for its eighth victory in nine games.

Mike Bibby scored 26 points and Brad Miller had 24 for the Kings.Suns 113, SuperSonics 102

At Phoenix, Shawn Marion had 29 points and 15 rebounds, Steve Nash added 27 points and 11 assists, and Phoenix beat fading Seattle for its seventh consecutive victory.

The Suns overcame career bests of 29 points and 21 rebounds by Seattle's Nick Collison to hand the Sonics their fifth loss in a row and 12th straight defeat on the road, two shy of the franchise record.Grizzlies 128, Lakers 118

At Memphis, Tenn., Pau Gasol had 25 points and 13 rebounds, and Mike Miller scored 14 of his 25 points in the Grizzlies' franchise-record 46-point third quarter.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 25 points. Maurice Evans scored 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, when Los Angeles trailed by as many as 25 points.Spurs 98, Trail Blazers 84

At San Antonio, Tim Duncan led a balanced attack with 16 points. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker had 14 points apiece, Brent Barry added 13 and Bruce Bowen scored 12 points - all on 3-pointers - for the Spurs.

Zach Randolph led the Blazers with 25 points, followed by LaMarcus Aldridge with 17, Jarrett Jack with 13 and Brandon Roy with 10.Pistons 98, 76ers 89

At Philadelphia, Tayshaun Prince scored a career-high 33 points and Richard Hamilton had 22 as Detroit handed Philadelphia its third straight loss.

Samuel Dalembert had 14 points and 17 rebounds, Andre Iguodala scored 15 points and Andre Miller had 10 assists for the Sixers.Pacers 91, Hawks 72

At Indianapolis, Al Harrington scored 18 points against his former team, including 14 in the second half.

Speedy Claxton scored 12 points and Joe Johnson, who was averaging 25.7 entering the game, added 10 for Atlanta (10-22).Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.