Nets Take Down Cavaliers, Secure No. 2 Seed In East
Kevin Durant had 23 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds and the Brooklyn Nets took the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 123-109 on Sunday night.
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Kevin Durant had 23 points, 13 assists and eight rebounds and the Brooklyn Nets took the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 123-109 on Sunday night.
The eighth appearance of the season for Brooklyn's Big Three wasn't particularly pretty. But the Nets had some sharp stretches and won their fourth straight, improving to 6-2 with their three All-Stars in the same game.
Coming off the bench in an NBA game for the first time since he won the league's Sixth Man award for Oklahoma City in 2011-12, Harden also had seven rebounds after the longest layoff of his career.
Brooklyn remains ahead of Milwaukee in the race for the second seed in the conference playoffs.
The Nets were coming off back-to-back losses to Milwaukee.
Brooklyn (43-23) lost its third straight to fall 1½ games behind Philadelphia (44-21) .
Giannis Antetokounmpo played how he wants to play, and it was enough to overcome a terrific effort by Kevin Durant.
Brooklyn had its lead over Philadelphia for the East No. 1 seed cut to a half-game ahead of a five-game trip that starts Sunday with the first of a pair of games in Milwaukee.
The Nets are 29-8 since Feb. 10, best in the league, and have clinched a playoff spot.
Kyrie Irving finished with nine points, six rebounds and four assists. Seven other Nets scored in double figures on the night Brooklyn became the first Eastern Conference team to lock up a playoff spot.
Long a superstar, Kevin Durant is turning into a super sub.
The Nets got their running game going again, with Harris making consecutive 3-pointers off passes from Irving to cap a 10-0 spurt that pushed the lead to 86-70 in the final minute of the third.
Kyrie Irving had 28 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists, and Bruce Brown added 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Nets, who again played without the injured Kevin Durant.
Joe Harris also hit a pair of late free throws to cap his 24-point night for the Nets, who won despite being without both Kevin Durant and James Harden.
Bam Adebayo drove left, stopped and watched his 13-foot jumper rattle in as time expired, a shot that allowed the Heat to beat the Brooklyn Nets 109-107 on Sunday to snap a three-game slide.
