Celtics grab series lead with win over Nets

Posted 8:42AM on Sunday 26th May 2002 ( 23 years ago )

BOSTON - Paul Pierce and the Boston Celtics pulled off the greatest fourth-quarter comeback in NBA playoff history. Pierce scored 19 of his 28 points in the final 12 minutes Saturday night as Boston overcame a 21-point deficit to beat the New Jersey Nets 94-90 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals. No team had ever come back from more than an 18-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter, and Pierce certainly didn't look like a candidate to pull off a miracle as he missed 12 of his first 14 shots. But he began driving the ball to the basket with reckless abandon in the final quarter, and the Celtics never relented as they outscored the Nets 41-16 in the fourth to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The previous largest comeback in a fourth quarter was 18 points when the Phoenix Suns came back from a 100-82 deficit to beat Houston 124-117 in overtime on May 11, 1994. Many of the Celtics raced to center court as the final buzzer sounded, and Boston coach Jim O'Brien pumped his fist in what was for him a rare display of delight. Pierce jumped atop the scorer's table and yelled to the crowd, which had to have been as loud as any of the mobs that witnessed any of the team's 16 championships. ``I've never been a part of anything like this in my life,'' said Antoine Walker, who added 23 points and helped keep the Celtics within striking range - if being down by as many as 26 can rightfully be called striking range - until the fourth. The fourth-quarter charge began the moment the Celtics touched the ball to begin the period as Pierce scored three baskets from inside during an 11-0 run that got the crowd back into the game and cut the Nets' lead to 74-64. The teams traded baskets for the next five minutes, with the Celtics never trailing by more than 13 or less than eight until Rodney Rogers hit two free throws with 3:12 left to make it 88-82. Pierce got inside for his sixth layup of the quarter to make it 90-87 with 1:37 left, then hit a pair from the line to pull Boston within a point with 1:07 left. After Kerry Kittles missed a 3-pointer, Pierce was fouled going to the basket with 46 seconds left. He made both shots, giving the Celtics their first lead since 1-0. Kittles lost his dribble on the ensuing possession, and Kenny Anderson scooped up the loose ball and went in for a layup that was goaltended by Kittles. New Jersey's Keith Van Horn got caught off his feet and flung up a wild shot that missed horribly with 22 seconds left, and Pierce made one of two from the line moments later for a four-point lead. Jason Kidd missed four 3-point attempts the rest of the way as the Nets completed their collapse. Pierce scored the most fourth-quarter points of anyone in the NBA this season, with an astonishing 57 of his 552 points in the period coming in Boston's four regular-season games against New Jersey. This latest display turned around what had been a terrible series for him up to that point, as he began the fourth quarter having missed 39 of his 53 attempts from the field. Anderson added 15 points in his best game of the series, and Rogers added 10 - six of them coming on foul shots in the fourth as Boston kept chipping away. Kidd had 19 points for the Nets, whose only go-to player in the final 12 minutes was backup center Aaron Williams. New Jersey shot 4-for-22 with six turnovers in the final 12 minutes, while Boston was 11-for-19 from the field and 18-for-21 from the line. The Celtics stretched their home winning streak to 11 straight, including 6-0 in the postseason. Lucious Harris came off the bench late in the second quarter after Richard Jefferson drew his third foul and scored 10 points over the final 3:12 of the half as the Nets - after letting an early 16-point lead drop to six - opened a 20-point halftime lead. The Celtics missed consecutive layups early in the third, then missed another layup and a tip-in. Baskets by Kidd and Kittles made it 61-36, and a jumper by Van Horn gave New Jersey its largest lead - 65-39 with 8:31 left in the third. The score was 74-53 at the end of three quarters, and the Nets' lead seemed safe. Pierce and the Celtics didn't quit, though, and will take a boatload of momentum into Game 4 on Monday night. Notes: Pierce and Kidd picked up double technical fouls late in the third after a brief exchange of words. ... Van Horn picked up two fouls in the first 39 seconds of the game. His replacement, Jefferson, had six points, five rebounds and four assists over the remaining 11:21 of the first quarter.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/5/194242