The Nets have been there before, tossed into the Fleet Center's boiling pot of taunts and amplified aggression.

They have been there before and they have won.

Last May, when Celtics fans were piercing the sound and taste barriers, the Nets floated above the din and out of their own den of despair. Two days after losing a record-breaking 21-point fourth-quarter lead in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, the Nets avoided another collapse to win Game 4 at the Fleet Center court.