EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. ? The New Jersey Nets have turned their Game Three meltdown into a positive.

Game Five was the proof.

Boston's Antoine Walker reacts on the bench. New Jersey used a 20-1 run to rout the Celtics, 103-92, in Game Five of the Eastern Conference finals Wednesday in East Rutherford, N.J.

After letting a 20-point lead drop to one, the Nets used a 20-1 run to make certain there would no new disaster. Taking control with stunning quickness, the Nets pulled away from Boston in the fourth quarter for a 103-92 victory Wednesday night that gave them a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference finals.

One more win, and the Nets will be going for their first title since the days when they played with a red, white and blue basketball.

“Game Three, as crazy as it may seem, may have been the best thing that happened to our ballclub. It showed us that no lead is safe,” Nets coach Byron Scott said, referring to New Jersey blowing a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter Saturday the biggest final-period blowup in NBA playoff history.

“Everything happens for a reason. We blew a 21-point lead, but I think we matured a lot from it.”

Jason Kidd was again the star of the show for the Nets, who got out to a big early lead for the third consecutive game. Kidd finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists, and his jumper with 9:30 remaining started New Jersey on the game-clinching run.

By the time Keith Van Horn ended the 20-1 burst with two three-pointers, the Nets had turned a 74-73 lead into a 94-74 advantage with 5:36 left. The Nets began celebrating, but not too emphatically.

The former ABA franchise still needs one more victory to make it to the NBA Finals for the first time since entering the league in 1976. They’ll go for it Friday night at Boston in Game Six.