BOSTON (AP) – This year’s Game 3 was nothing like last year’s Game 3.

On the same court where New Jersey set an NBA record by blowing a 21-point fourth-quarter cushion, the Nets defeated the Boston Celtics 94-76 Friday night to take a 3-0 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

That’s a deficit no NBA team has ever overcome.

Kenyon Martin scored 25 points and Richard Jefferson added 20 on the floor where the Nets were on the wrong end of one of the biggest comebacks in playoff history. It was a victory that inspired the Celtics to celebrate wildly and jump atop the scorer’s table, but it was followed by three Nets victories as they won the Eastern Conference finals 4-2.

This series isn’t likely to get that far. Game 4 of the best-of-seven matchup is Monday night in Boston.

Not even the presence in the front row of Danny Ainge, who was named the Celtics’ executive director of basketball operations before the game, provided the boost the Celtics needed. Ainge was a guard on Boston’s last two championship teams in 1984 and 1986.

Paul Pierce, who scored 19 points in the fourth-quarter comeback last season, couldn’t save the Celtics this time as the Nets led 76-56 going into the final quarter. New Jersey stretched that to 87-62 before Antoine Walker scored on a putback with 6:26 left.

Just 25 seconds later, Pierce went to the Celtics’ locker room with trainer Ed Lacerte. He had a strained muscle in his right leg and didn’t return.

Pierce led Boston with 23 points. Antoine Walker, who missed 26 of 35 shots in the first two games, went 6-for-17 and scored 15.

As the Celtics fell behind by 20 points in the third quarter, the fans reprised their vulgar chant toward Kidd from a year ago. And late in the game with the outcome all but decided, Walker had to be restrained from going after a fan behind the bench. Other fans wearing Celtics jerseys attempted to come to Walker’s defense, but they nearly incited a melee.

The Nets took their biggest lead of the first half, 34-21, on a 3-pointer by Rodney Rogers, who played for Boston last year. The Celtics cut that to 38-33 on Pierce’s layup, but the Nets led 47-39 at halftime.

Pierce hit a 3-pointer to make it 60-51 with 7:28 left in the third quarter. Then New Jersey pulled away, scoring the next 15 points and taking a 75-51 lead with 55 seconds remaining. Kidd scored the last five points in the run and finished with nine points, 11 assists and nine rebounds.

He ignored the crowd throughout the game, even when it chanted “wife beater” when he went to the foul line with 1:42 left in the third quarter – a reference to his Jan. 2001 arrest for striking his wife. The charges were dropped when Kidd underwent anger counseling and paid a fine.

The Celtics did reach one goal, cutting down on the 21 turnovers that cost them in Game 2.

They committed 17, leading to 16 points. But New Jersey turned the ball over just nine times.

Notes: Several fans in the front row wore San Antonio Spurs No. 5 jerseys with Kidd’s name on the back. There was been widespread speculation that Kidd, who will be a free agent this summer, will sign with the Spurs. … Walker led all rebounders with 15. … The Nets have won five straight playoff games for the first time in their history. They have a 3-0 series lead for the first time. … New Jersey is 9-1 in its last 10 games against Boston. … Celtics president Red Auerbach and former players Bob Cousy, John Havlicek, K.C. Jones, Tom Heinsohn and Bill Walton were in the crowd. … Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney also attended.

AP-ES-05-09-03 2307EDT