The spurned spouse of New Jersey Nets star Jason Kidd denied through her lawyer she beat her husband and said that if he wants to fight dirty she too has ammunition - accusations he cheated on her.
Asked if Kidd was unfaithful to his wife, Joumana Kidd's lawyer Raoul Felder said, "Do they sell pantyhose at Macy's?"

"He's been gone awhile and no one knows where he stays," the celebrated divorce lawyer said. "That right there should tell you something."

Felder would not name names and dismissed Kidd's divorce petition as something from "the realm of fantasy."

"Fantasy will be met with truth," Felder said. "He is going to find out it's a lot more difficult dealing with things in a court of law than on a basketball court. I believe she has grounds to divorce three different people."

But so far, the only motion to seek a divorce came from Kidd, who blindsided his wife Tuesday by filing an explosive petition in Bergen County Family Court in Hackensack, N.J.

Kidd, 33, who portrayed himself in court papers as the victim of an "increasingly jealous and paranoid" woman, concentrated on his free-throw shooting at the Nets practice yesterday and shunned the media.

But shortly after Kidd dropped the legal bomb on his 34-year-old wife, he expressed hope that "we can resolve this as quickly as possible and move forward."

Felder said that might be wishful thinking and reminded reporters that Kidd was once busted for punching his wife in the mouth in a fight over his eating their son's French fries.

"He apparently is now trying to backpedal and talking about needing privacy," he said. "But once the genie is out of the bottle you can't put it back in. What happened here is appalling."

Felder also ridiculed the 6-foot-4 point guard's contention in court papers that his wife resorted to punching, kicking and throwing "nearby household objects" to resolve marital disputes.

Felder said Kidd pumped up his wife's height and weight to throw some weight behind claims that she beat him up. "He says she's 5-5, 110 pounds, but she's actually 5-2, 105 pounds," he said.

And Joumana Kidd is no man-beater, according to her lawyer. "She would have trouble with a 6-year-old on roller skates," Felder said. "She's a very slim, little person."

Felder also called "untrue" Kidd's claims that she bugged his computer and car - and used their son to steal his cell phone from the Nets locker room so she could see who he had been calling.

"He takes something that has a trace of truth and builds it up," Felder said. "Nothing happened the way he has alleged."

Felder predicted that when the divorce is over, "he's going to regret what he did."

"She was devoted to her marriage," he said. "She's a very religious woman and she had her marriage and her kids, that's it. And that's as it should be."

Kidd, a star point guard who is in the fourth year of a $99 million, six-year contract with the Nets, has been married to Joumana Kidd, a former model and sometime television personality, for 10 years. They have three kids.

Kidd's lawyer said Felder was blowing smoke.

"Don't be distracted from the facts," said Madeline Marzano-Lesnevich. "This case is about spousal abuse and a pattern of extreme cruelty by Mrs. Kidd."

He filed for divorce a day after he took out a temporary restraining order out against his wife - a move that led to her being booted out of their swanky Saddle River, N.J., home.

Joumana Kidd was allowed to return home after her lawyers and Kidd's lawyers quickly agreed that she should be allowed to stay in their home. She didn't come to the door when a reporter knocked. Her lawyers said she also has taken a temporary restraining order against Kidd.

Kidd flew to Chicago last night for tonight's Nets game against the Bulls.