Kings, Nets meet at Meadowlands

The NBA trading deadline came and went Thursday afternoon and the Nets elected not to pull the trigger on a deal, although various reports had the team shopping both Kidd and Carter.

Instead, the club will continue its attempt at a playoff spot with the duo but without forward Richard Jefferson, who is still out indefinitely because of right ankle surgery.

New Jersey has lost three in a row and seven of 10 overall but finds itself just 4 1/2 games back of Toronto for the lead in the Atlantic Division. The Nets, though, are ninth overall in the East and 1 1/2 games back of the eight spot despite being in second place in their division.

New Jersey dropped its third in a row on Wednesday, when the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets posted a 111-107 victory on the first game of the Nets’ current homestand.

Carter had a season-high 46 points, while Bostjan Nachbar tallied 15 points and Mikki Moore had 10.

Kidd returned to the lineup after missing New Jersey’s last two games and the All-Star game with a strained lower back. He had just six points and was a dismal 2-of-14 from the floor.

The Nets are just 14-14 this season at the Continental Airlines Arena, where they have lost four of their past five games. The squad will also host New York, Washington and Boston.

The Kings, meanwhile, suffered a tough setback on Thursday in the first tilt of a four-game road trip.

Gilbert Arenas scored 43 points and Washington overcame a monumental collapse in the fourth quarter and a waived- off jumper at the buzzer by Sacramento’s John Salmons to post a 109-106 win at the Verizon Center.

The Kings overcame a 17-point final quarter deficit and trailed by just one at 107-106 when Salmons nailed a three-pointer with 1.4 seconds to go. After a pair of free throws for the Wizards, Brad Miller hit Salmons with a long inbounds pass and Salmons nailed a three-point try. However, it was eventually ruled that Salmons didn’t get his shot off before time expired.

Ron Artest scored 32 and Mike Bibby had 30 for the Kings, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Miller had 13 rebounds.

The Kings are 7-18 as the visitor this year and will play five of their next six on the road. They will travel to Indiana and Philadelphia on their current swing.

Sacramento and New Jersey will battle for the second and final time this season. The Kings took the first matchup by a slim 88-87 margin on January 22 at home.

In that game, Bibby scored Sacramento’s final 15 points, hitting the go-ahead jumper with 10.3 seconds left, as the Kings completed a rally from a 20-point third-quarter deficit.

The Kings have won three straight in the series.