BOSTON, May 25 (UPI) -- The Boston Celtics, sparked by Antoine Walker's words of encouragement, pulled off the greatest fourth-quarter comeback in NBA playoff history Saturday, stunning the New Jersey Nets, 94-90, in Game Three of the Eastern Conference finals.
The Celtics grabbed a 2-1 series lead and added another chapter to their storied playoff history with the first great postseason game at the FleetCenter. They trailed by 26 points in the second half and 74-53 entering the final period before rallying as the Nets cowered, then collapsed.
As the Celtics huddled before the fourth quarter, Walker lit into his teammates. He screamed at all of them, including Paul Pierce, a fellow All-Star who was having his third straight sub-par game in the series.
Whatever he said, it worked. Boston began the quarter with an 11-0 burst as Pierce scored seven points. But the Celtics still trailed, 86-74, when New Jersey's Aaron Williams made a three-point play with 5:46 to go.
Boston kept coming and the sellout crowd -- which had been booing the home team in the third quarter -- cheered louder and louder. New Jersey, which had been in total control, appeared rattled and unnerved. It went the final 4:07 without a basket and the last 2:29 without scoring.
In the fourth quarter, the Celtics scored 41 points and held the Nets to 16. Pierce scored 19 of his 28 points in the period, including eight in a closing 10-0 surge. Walker had 23 points and 12 rebounds, adding a key blocked shot in the final seconds.
It was a crushing loss for the Nets, who looked more like last season's terrible team than the one that won 52 games and the Atlantic Division this season. In NBA playoff history, 171 teams had taken leads of more than 18 points into the last quarter. None had lost -- until Saturday.
Game Four is Monday at Boston.
