Having defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-108 on Tuesday in the NBA Play-In Tournament, the Brooklyn Nets have advanced to the NBA Playoffs and will meet the Boston Celtics in the first round.
Nets Beat Cavaliers in Play in and will Face Celtics Next
Kyrie Irving, the Nets’ point guard (who missed more than half the season due to questions about his vaccinations), led the team with 34 points and 12 assists despite missing more than half the season. After two quarters, Irving had a perfect nine-for-nine shooting record, including a difficult buzzer-beater at the end of the second.
The Cavaliers never led after the first quarter when Brooklyn went up by 20. In the waning seconds, the Cavaliers got within five points of the Nets, but they couldn’t quite catch up.
Kevin Durant led the winning side with 25 points and 11 dimes. Bruce Brown contributed 18 points, eight dimes, and nine boards for the Nets.
However, the Cavaliers aren’t out of the woods just yet, while the Nets have already secured a postseason berth. On Wednesday, the ninth- and tenth-place teams in the Eastern Conference will square off when the Atlanta Hawks take on the Charlotte Hornets. Depending on who wins, Cleveland could meet the winner for a spot in the first round against the Miami Heat.
Darius Garland, the Cavaliers’ point guard, had a big night on Tuesday, scoring 34 points and dishing out five assists. In the middle for the Cavaliers, All-Star Jarrett Allen was unavailable due to a broken finger.
Before tonight, the name of the team the Celtics will face in the first round of the NBA playoffs was scribbled in pencil, presumed, and to the general public, all but engraved in stone. The Boston-Brooklyn matchup is now official. Well, I suppose that’s just the way things turned out.
With their 115-108 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference’s seventh-versus-eighth play-in game, the Nets clinched a playoff berth and a meeting with the second-seeded Celtics.
Last Words
Boston has rethought its roster and strategy since last season, but the Nets have changed as well. This is a brand-new series featuring two different squads. All previous records have been deleted. The only thing that is unclear is who will come out on top this time.
