Nets' Nic Claxton breaks Shaquille O'Neal free-throw futility record in Celtics sweep

Nic Claxton's free throw misses certainly can't be blamed for Brooklyn's stunning 4-0 series sweep at the hands of the Boston Celtics.

But they didn't help.

The Nets forward surpassed Shaquille O'Neal in the NBA record books during Monday's Game 4 loss. And not in a good way. Claxton missed his first 10 free throws in the 116-12 loss, breaking the record for most free throws without a make to start a playoff game.

Per Turner Sports — O'Neal's employer — Shaq previously held the dubious record with eight straight misses at the stripe to start a 2006 playoff game. Claxton tied the record with his eighth miss on the front end of a pair of free throws early in the third quarter with Boston leading, 65-56. He then missed the back end to claim the record for his own.

He went on to miss a 10th straight before finally converting his first made free throw to cut Boston's lead to 73-67 with 6:17 remaining.

The make elicited a Bronx cheer from the Nets faithful — if such a thing can exist in Brooklyn, that is.

Would a few more makes have changed outcome?

That was the end of Claxton's night at the stripe, where he finished a woeful 1 of 11. Forget his place in the record book. In a four-point elimination playoff loss, those add up to some costly misses. For the game, the Celtics shot 18 of 22 (81.8%) from the line, while Claxton dragged Brooklyn's rate to 58.6% (17 of 29) for the game. It's not hard to do the math on how a few more makes from Claxton might have impacted the game.

Claxton is generally a poor free-throw shooter. But his 58.1% success rate during the regular season was considerably better than his performance from the stripe in the postseason. Including the play-in game, he went 5 for 28 from the line, or 17.9%.

If there's any solace for Claxton, it's that his free-throw failures are at the back of the line for critics seeking a scapegoat for Brooklyn's historically disappointing playoff collapse. That list starts with much more prominent names, including Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Sean Marks, Steve Nash and Ben Simmons.