Celtics' sudden playoff exit was the first of its kind in NBA history

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If you need one stat to sum up the 2018-19 Boston Celtics, this might be it.

After a roller-coaster regular season, the Celtics appeared to "flip the switch" in the postseason by sweeping the Indiana Pacers in the first round and beating the Milwaukee Bucks on the road in Game 1 of the second round.

And then? Then they lost four straight to Milwaukee (including two at home) to hasten a sudden playoff flameout.

Turns out that flameout was historic.

Think about that: No team in the league's 70-plus-year history suffered such a sudden playoff collapse as this year's Celtics.

Most NBA teams that sweep their previous series win the next one. A very small few go cold and lose in six or seven games. But none have won five in a row only to turn around and lose four straight.

The C's are somewhat victims of their situation: The Indiana Pacers were worse than their No. 5 seed advertised after losing All-Star Victor Oladipo to a midseason injury, while the Bucks proved they deserve the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed by stifling Boston in Games 2 through 5.

But considering the Celtics' lofty preseason expectations, a four-game losing streak was a fitting way to end one of their most frustrating seasons in recent memory.

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