EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- When the New Jersey Nets began their playoff run some three weeks ago, skeptics wondered how the No. 1 seed in the East would perform under pressure.

They charged that the Nets were soft. That Jason Kidd had never been clutch and wouldn't start now. And that Keith Van Horn, Kerry Kittles and Kenyon Martin would be too busy trembling in their Nikes to bury any shots of significance.

Well, enter the "we should have known better" cackle here.

The Nets are headed to the franchise's first conference finals after a 103-95 victory over Charlotte on Wednesday, thanks to the one facet of their game that everyone thought would be a weakness -- coming up big in the fourth quarter.

"That's it," said Kidd, when asked about that biggest change in this team from October to now. "Our guys are playing with confidence and have learned what to do when the game is on the line."

	Turning It Around
	Since conference play began in 1970-71, no team has reached the conference finals with a lower win total in the previous season than the Nets. Only two other teams have won fewer than 30 games in one season and gone on to the conference finals the following season. The '88-89 Suns won just 28 games the season before, while the '79-80 Celtics won 29 before making the conference finals, and the Suns are also the only team to make the list twice.
		Wins prev. season
	'01-02 Nets	26
	'88-89 Suns	28
	'79-80 Celtics	29
	'86-87 Sonics	31
	'75-76 Suns	32
	'91-92 Cavaliers	33
	>>Since conferences formed in '70-71

So much so that when watching the Nets -- these are still the Nets, remember -- you get the feeling that they just toy with teams, doing the bare minimum to keep the game close through 3½ quarters before flipping the intensity switch and pulling away late in the fourth.

Like the Bulls of old. The Lakers of new. Or any other top-notch playoff team.

"That's when playoff games are won, in the final two minutes," said rookie Richard Jefferson, in the most veteran-like tone. "And we felt like if we just hung around, we could get them in the game's final minutes. That's when we shine."

On Wednesday, the Nets were down four with about seven minutes to play and the locals were starting to get a tad restless when the switch went on. A Kidd steal and ensuing layup ignited the run, with a Kittles 3-pointer, a Van Horn 3 and Martin alley-oop clinching the deal.

Before the Hornets realized what had happened, they trailed 99-91 and the game was all but over.

"Our guys really seem to relish in these moments of being behind a little bit and coming back," Nets coach Byron Scott said. "We have a very unflappable type of team that no matter what happens, if we get down four or five or whatever, we know we can come back."

Unflappable? New Jersey? It's true.

Sunday, in Game 4, the Nets used a 25-15 fourth-quarter run to key an 89-79 victory. In fact, New Jersey outscored Charlotte in the fourth quarter in all but one of the series' five games. And that was the one game they lost, 115-97.

In a series in which three of the five games were decided by 10 points or less, New Jersey outscored the Nets 119-102 in the final periods.

Though it's hardly how head coach Byron Scott draws it up, the formula is simple: Play hard for 3½ quarters, keep the game tight and then flip the switch, slap on the defense, let Kidd create and watch the Nets win.

"It's certainly not the goal, I'll say that," center Todd MacCulloch said about his team's strategy. "You don't want to rely on these fourth-quarter spurts. I think sometimes, we put too much pressure on ourselves. But we keep coming through."

Part of that is because of Kidd. The sparkplug guard, one of the rare players who has the ability to dominate for 94 feet, has the ability to break down a defense, find open teammates, hit open shots, create turnovers and maintain the proper tempo.

Take Wednesday, for example, when after his fourth-quarter steal, Kidd shifted into warp speed to convert an easy two. But then three possessions later, he took a teammate's outlet pass and slowed things down, eventually finding Kittles for his backbreaking 3-pointer.

And just when you think he's done, Kidd casually dribbles the ball at the top of the key, looking like he's stalling time, when in one motion he picks up his dribble and lofts the ball to Martin, who is already airborne, waiting for the ball to slam into the Hornets' coffin.

"When the game is on the line, he knows when to run the ball, when to slow it down, when to make sure we don't force things," Van Horn said. "He's just great at controlling the tempo."

Just as important is the fourth-quarter intensity the Nets have on defense. And the comforting in-huddle ways of Scott, who seems to know the precise moment to yell at his guys and inspire them, or just to simply lay off. His cool, calm demeanor on the sidelines translates to a cool, calm demeanor on the court.

"Even so, it's the players that have the heart, the desire and the will to come up big when we need it," Scott said. "They're the ones who turn it on and hit the shots when we need them. They're the ones who respond."

Who would have thought?

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com.