Nets joined by Celtics in hallowed list for NBA postseason success
The Brooklyn Nets have not played a basketball game since April as they did not qualify for the NBA playoffs following a disappointing 32-50 finish to the 2023-24 season. However, after Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Wednesday between the Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks, Boston found themselves amongst a hallowed list of great teams, including the Nets.
Per NBA History on X, the Celtics became the ninth team in league history to win 10 consecutive games in the playoffs after their 106-99 win at the Mavericks on Wednesday. One of the teams that accomplished this rare feat of playoff success was the New Jersey Nets during the 2003 postseason.
The 2002-03 Nets, then playing in New Jersey, was led by Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, and Richard Jefferson and was coached by Byron Scott on their way to finishing the regular season with a 49-33 record. The Nets faced the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round and after going into Game 5 tied 2-2 for the series, New Jersey took off from there.
The Nets won the next two games to win the series over Milwaukee 4-2 and then proceeded to sweep the Celtics and the Detroit Pistons on their way to the NBA Finals. However, their streak was ended by the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 and from there, the Nets were only able to win two of the next five games before losing to the Spurs in six games.
The Celtics are the ninth team to win 10+ straight games in a single postseason.
The other eight:
2017 Warriors: 15
1999 Spurs: 12
2001 Lakers: 11
1989 Lakers: 11
2017 Cavaliers: 10
2016 Cavaliers: 10
2012 Spurs: 10
2003 Nets: 10 https://t.co/5pAvwjzjtu— NBA History (@NBAHistory) June 13, 2024
