EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Laugh, giggle or smirk if you must, but the New Jersey Nets' Game 3 meltdown, the loss that was supposed to end this series and bury the Nets back in mediocrity, just may turn out to be the slap in the face that sends the young team to its first NBA Finals appearance.

At least that's where credit was going Wednesday, when, just like in Games 3 and 4, the Nets lost yet another double-digit lead. But unlike Games 3 and 4, they responded with a dazzling fourth-quarter run of their own, putting the Celtics on the brink of elimination.

	“	As crazy as it may seem, that Game 3 may be the best thing that ever happened to this franchise. We learned that no lead is safe. And we learned how to respond. ”
		— Nets coach Byron Scott

New Jersey's 20-1 run over a span of 5:49 put the game out of reach and put the Nets within one game of the NBA Finals. Afterwards, the Nets couldn't help but talk about lessons learned.

"As crazy as it may seem, that Game 3 may be the best thing that ever happened to this franchise," Nets coach Byron Scott said. "We learned that no lead is safe. And we learned how to respond."

Which is exactly what they did on Wednesday. After the Celtics cut New Jersey's 20-point lead to 74-73 with 10:50 left in the fourth, the Nets decided they had had enough. Their zone defense flustered the Celtics into three straight turnovers and then caused them to miss seven straight shots.

Offensively, they got out and ran, allowing point guard Jason Kidd to create in the open floor and either drive to the basket, where he converted three open lay-ups, or hit the open man, which he did on assists to Keith Van Horn and Lucious Harris.

Before the Celtics knew what hit them, five minutes and forty-nine seconds had passed in their lives and this game was over.

It was a stark contrast from Games 3 and 4, when the Nets weathered furious Boston rallies without responding with one of their own. In Game 3, it resulted in a four-point loss. In Game 4, it took Paul Pierce to choke on a free throw for the Nets to escape overtime and win.

On Wednesday, they took the fourth quarter to the Celtics, not vice versa.

"I told our team, 'Let's go for the win,' " Scott said. "Let's not sit around and see what they are going to do and be passive. Let's win the game. Let's be aggressive like we were in the beginning."

The Nets did just that, using a flustering zone defense to keep the ball away from Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker, with neither player attempting a single field goal during New Jersey's game-clinching rally. They only touched the ball three times.

"That was big for us," New Jersey center Jason Collins said. "Neither Pierce nor Antoine was able to get comfortable and get their shot off during that stretch. We clamped down and decided we were going to make somebody else beat us."

And nobody else did. In the third quarter, Celtic guard Erick Strickland capitalized on New Jersey's sagging defense, scoring 11 of Boston's final 13 points in the period, but he couldn't carry the success to the fourth. Neither could guard Kenny Anderson, who also found himself open for jump shots. Combined, Strickland and Anderson were 2-of-9 in the final period with two turnovers.

"We just didn't make the plays," Anderson said. "We had them on the ropes, but they didn't get nervous. They didn't crumble. Instead, they put us away."

Five different Nets scored during the 5:49 run, which featured a flurry of jabs and hooks that went like this: First Kidd hit a jump shot, then Van Horn a lay-up and Collins a free throw. Kidd then added two more lay-ups, Collins another free throw and Harris a jumper. Richard Jefferson made a free throw, and then Van Horn hit two backbreaking 3-pointers.

Boston's only points? A lone free throw by center Tony Battie.

"They flat-out took it to us," Strickland said. "I think part of it was we ran out of gas and part of it was them hitting the big shots and getting in our face."

Perhaps no one was more critical to the New Jersey rally than Collins. With Nets center Aaron Williams in foul trouble, Scott went to Collins, who had played just 14 minutes in the previous four games.

Collins responded, hitting 7-of-10 free throws down the stretch while clamping down on Rodney Rogers on the defensive end and keeping the Celtics off the offensive glass.

"You never know who the X factor is going to be in a game like this and tonight it was Twin," Kidd said of Collins, whose twin brother, Jarron, plays for Utah. "He made some big free throws for us and just changed the game."

While Collins' aggressiveness keyed the run, Van Horn's 3-point shooting finished it off. Van Horn hit a pair of back-to-back threes, one on a pass from Harris and another on a dish from Kidd, which not only put New Jersey up 20 but also sent Continental Airlines Arena into a frenzy.

It got so bad for the Celtics that, with 3:29 left to play, Jim O'Brien finally waived the white flag, subbing Walter McCarty and Rogers for Pierce and Walker.

"They went on a great, great tear," O'Brien said. "They went to zone and we didn't get enough movement against the zone and we didn't make shots. They did everything you're supposed to do."

And everything they didn't do in Games 3 and 4. Which begs the question, if the Nets wouldn't have gone through those experiences and wouldn't have learned from them, would they be standing where they are today -- one game away from the NBA Finals?

"I don't know. And I guess we'll never know," Scott said. "But I'll say this -- everything happens for a reason. And I can tell you that was the defining moment for this franchise."

Wayne Drehs is a staff writer for ESPN.com.