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NEW YORK -- MRIs on their previously troublesome left knees couldn't erase all doubt as to how healthy Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin really are. So instead we must rely on the naked eye.

And what we've seen from Kidd and Martin the last four games has been remarkable when you consider how their knees -- both bad enough to keep them sidelined for nine of the season's final 15 games -- had cast a pall of doubt over both their ability to play like All-Stars and the New Jersey Nets' ability to play like the Eastern Conference champions.

Because of the players' iffy status, the Nets weren't the vogue pick to come out of the East, having been supplanted by the Pacers and Pistons. But with Martin and Kidd getting healthier with every victory, there again is reason to fear the team that has represented the East in the last two NBA Finals.

That is, if their 14-game East playoff winning streak doesn't scare you enough.

"If you ask everyone around here, we weren't concerned," Jason Collins said of the status of Kidd and Martin going into the postseason. "We see these guys practice. We knew come playoff time everybody would be ready to go."

Martin showed he's feeling just fine with another dominating performance in Sunday's 100-94 win at Madison Square Garden. If the playoff career-high 36 points along with 13 rebounds weren't convincing, his agility on defense made you believe -- with one first-quarter block on Vin Baker erasing all doubt.

Martin didn't just misdirect the lean-in jumper by Baker -- he snatched the ball out of mid-air with both hands. He then sank a jumper at the Nets' end and walked away with the shrewdest of smirks.

"That's one of the best games I've seen him play since the Finals his second year in the league against the Lakers," Richard Jefferson said. "When his best was needed, he was right there."

Martin, the Nets' leading scorer (23.3) and rebounder (14.0) in the series, suffered a flareup of tendinitis in his knee in Game 3 but played through the pain. The sight of retired teammate Alonzo Mourning in the stands on Sunday motivated Martin to put in a 'Zo-like effort.

"I was just trying to be the force that we need down low," shrugged Martin, who dedicated his Game 4 double-double to Mourning.

Credit Kidd for keeping the Nets' fast break in full throttle. They turned the Lincoln Tunnel series into their own personal Millrose Games, running the 94-foot dash and long-jumping over the Knicks for an average of 20 fastbreak points a night.

Kidd averaged 17 points and nine assists against New York, increasing his scoring each game to a personal series-high of 20 on Sunday. Kidd also logged no fewer than 39 minutes in each of the four games.

"Kenyon and Jason share their greatest strengths -- their will and determination," Nets head coach Lawrence Frank said. "It may not always look pretty. They both work on their games extremely hard and have such will. ... They set the tone for everything we do and that is why they are such tremendous leaders and teammates."

But individual numbers aren't what the Nets were singling out for their first-round domination of the Knicks. They pointed to their collective strength and experience of having been through playoff battles before.

"We've been together for three years now," Martin said. "The core has been together ... Not to take anything away from the Knicks but our experience down the stretch helped us a lot."

"We might not have the Tim Duncans or the Kevin Garnetts," Kidd said. "But the heart and soul of this team can never be measured."

Joe Lago is the NBA editor for ESPN.com.