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Kyrie Irving says Nets needed ‘humbling experience’ of getting swept by Celtics

Kyrie Irving seems to have come to terms with the way he and the Nets bowed out of the postseason last year.

Going into their first-round series against the Celtics, the Nets were not favored, but they were expected to give the Celtics a fight. Given Irving and Kevin Durant’s experience, many experts picked them to win even though the Celtics were red-hot and a lackluster regular season dropped the Nets to the No. 7 seed.

Instead, the Celtics took care of business and swept the Nets — albeit in four relatively close games.

The optics weren’t encouraging for the Nets and kickstarted a dramatic summer that included Durant’s trade request (which ultimately fizzled out).