Nets Coach Sets Record for Best Start

The NBA record for the best start to a coaching career now belongs to a 33-year-old who was not good enough to play for his high school team.

Lawrence Frank posted his 10th straight victory, riding Jason Kidd’s 58th career triple-double and big games by Richard Jefferson and Rodney Rogers in the New Jersey Nets’ 98-92 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.

Frank had shared the record for best coaching start with Kurt Rambis of the 1998-99 Lakers and Buddy Jeannette of the 1947-48 Baltimore Bullets.

Kidd finished with 15 points, a team-high 13 rebounds and 10 assists as the Nets tied a franchise record with their 11th straight win, beating the Hawks in Rasheed Wallace’s first and perhaps last game with Atlanta.

Jefferson had 16 of his 23 points in the second half, and Rogers scored all 10 of his points in the final quarter, including two free throws that gave New Jersey an 89-87 lead with 2:50 to play.

Kenyon Martin, who had 21 points and 10 rebounds, stretched the margin to four points with a putback after Joel Przybilla missed a layup at the other end. Kerry Kittles made it 93-87 with a rebound follow.

One streak that did come to an end for New Jersey was its run of 10 straight wins by 10 or more points.

Wallace, acquired before the All-Star break in a deal with Portland, had 20 points and six rebounds. He is rumored to be on the block again with the NBA trading deadline on Thursday.

Former Net Stephen Jackson had 25 points and Jason Terry added 22, each hitting five of Atlanta’s 12 three-pointers.

Frank was cut by his high school team and spent four years at Indiana, working as a student manager for Bobby Knight’s Hoosiers.

After stints at Marquette and Tennessee, Frank broke into the NBA with Vancouver and came to New Jersey as an assistant to Byron Scott, who he replaced on Jan. 26 with the two-time defending Eastern Conference champions battling year-long inconsistency.

Frank and the Nets seemed to be in a little trouble late in the third quarter when Jackson hit two 3-pointers and scored eight straight points to give the Hawks a 68-63 lead.

However, Jefferson hit a jumper and Kidd picked up a loose ball in the closing seconds and hit a half-court floater to tie the game.

Neither team led by more than four points in the fourth quarter until the closing minutes.

NOTES:@ Przybilla had four points on 2 of 11 shooting in his debut with the Hawks. … The Hawks became the first team to outscore the Nets (29-25) in the third quarter since Frank took over. … Rogers and Przybilla got matching technicals in the fourth quarter. … The Nets also had 11 straight wins in 1982-83. …Wallace was 8 of 24. … Larry Bird had 59 career triple-doubles.