Brooklyn Nets: 10 best seasons in franchise history

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BOSTON, : Jason Kidd (R) of the New Jersey Nets is grabbed by Kenny Anderson of the Boston Celtics during game 6 of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals 31 May, 2002 in Boston, MA. AFP PHOTO/Jessica RINALDI (Photo credit should read JESSICA RINALDI/AFP/Getty Images) /

4. 2001-02 New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets won 26 games in 2000-01 under first-year coach Byron Scott and looked to make some changes in the offseason when they pulled off a blockbuster deal with the Phoenix Suns in mid-July 2001.

Gone was All-Star point guard Stephon Marbury. In his place came another All-Star point guard from the Valley of the Sun, Jason Kidd.

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The Nets also added some young talent on draft night, taking Seton Hall forward Eddie Griffin with the seventh overall pick before flipping him to the Houston Rockets for first-round picks Richard Jefferson, Jason Collins and Brandon Armstrong.

On the surface, it didn’t look like anything that would dramatically reverse the fortunes of the franchise. But Jason Kidd did just that.

The Nets opened the season with seven wins in their first eight games and put together a six-game winning streak in January and another in February to take control of the Eastern Conference race.

With a win over the Washington Wizards on April 9, 2002, the Nets won 50 games for the first time as an NBA team and finished as the top seed in the East with a 52-30 mark.

The divide between East and West in the NBA was as deep as it has ever been that season. While the Nets won 52 games to get the No. 1 seed in the East, the Dallas Mavericks won 57 games … and were fourth in the powerful West.

New Jersey got pushed in the first round, as the eighth-seeded Indiana Pacers surprised the Nets with an 89-83 Game 1 win. New Jersey came back to win Game 2 by 16 and took a 2-1 lead with an 85-84 win at Indianapolis in Game 3.

The Pacers responded with a blowout win in Game 4, forcing a decisive fifth game at East Rutherford.

The Nets appeared to have the game in hand in the closing seconds. Kidd made a pair of free throws with 17.3 second left and Jefferson grabbed a miss by Kevin Ollie with 5.1 seconds to go and was immediately fouled.

But the rookie missed both free throws and with 0.9 second to go, Reggie Miller buried a 39-foot 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.

Miller again played the hero in the first overtime, driving for a layup with 3.1 seconds left to tie the game again at 107-107. Kidd’s jumper on the ensuing possession was offline and the teams headed to another overtime.

Kerry Kittles converted a three-point play and Kidd buried a jumper to put New Jersey up five before Ron Mercer connected for Indiana to make it a 112-109 game. New Jersey slammed the door from there, ending the game on an 8-0 run to close out the series.

The Nets needed no such dramatics to take care of the Charlotte Hornets in the conference semifinals and met the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The teams split Games 1 and 2 at Jersey and Games 3 and 4 in Boston before the Nets took control, winning Game 5 at home 103-92 before clinching their first trip to the NBA Finals with a 96-88 win at Boston.

The Nets headed to L.A. to play the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers and were overmatched by Shaquille O’Neal, who averaged 36.3 points per game in the four-game sweep.

Kidd was an All-Star again in his first season in New Jersey, adding first-team All-NBA and All-Defensive honors and finishing runner-up to San Antonio’s Tim Duncan in the MVP voting after averaging 14.7 points, 9.9 assists and 7.3 rebounds per game.

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