Kidd had 12 points in the first quarter, none in the second and 14 in the third. He had five assists in the fourth quarter but did not attempt a shot.
"I think I played a pretty good game if this happened to be my last game here," said Kidd, who will become a free agent this summer. "I gave everything I had."
Martin, who had been sick for three days, missed the team's morning shootaround.
Down the stretch, his mistakes helped doom the Nets.
A 6-0 run by New Jersey midway through the fourth quarter pulled them to 78-76, and the Nets had a chance to tie after Parker missed a 3. But Aaron Williams missed a short jumper from the lane, then fouled Duncan. His two free throws made it 80-76, and Kerr slapped the ball away from Martin as he dribbled and then dived on the floor for a steal.
Kerr then hit a wide-open 3 for a seven-point lead, and another turnover by Martin led to a breakaway layup by Ginobili. After Richard Jefferson made two foul shots, David Robinson stole a pass by Martin to set up the possession that ended with Kerr's runner.
"Steve was fantastic," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He's the consummate pro. He comes on the court, he knows what we're doing. He's in shape, and he did a really fine job. Obviously, he was a huge factor down the stretch."
San Antonio used its zone defense for the longest stretch yet in the series -- approximately seven minutes in the second quarter. Parker hit a 3-pointer and Duncan scored on a baseline turnaround as the Spurs closed the half with a 5-0 run for a 42-34 lead.
The Spurs stayed ahead until Kidd hit a 3-pointer, Stephen Jackson committed his fourth turnover of the game and 20th of the series, and Kidd posted up Speedy Claxton for a turnaround jumper that put New Jersey up 50-49 with 6:41 left in the third.
Duncan made two foul shots with 3:10 left in the third to give the lead back to San Antonio, and the Spurs held it the rest of the way.
CTV and ESPN will broadcast Game 6 live on Monday at 8:30am. Game 7, if necessary, will be shown live on Thursday at 8:30am.
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