Kyrie Irvingwith 34 points and twelve rebounds, and Kevin Durantwith 25 points and 11 assists, gave this Tuesday a victory by 115-108 to the Brooklyn Nets in the “play-in” against the Cleveland Cavalierswhich allowed Steve Nash’s team qualify for the playoffsin which They will face the Boston Celtics.
On the tightrope after a new season marked by ups and downs, the Nets did not fail in the decisive moment and they won to the rhythm of their leaders, Irving and Durant, against some Cavaliers who were not satisfied with 34 points from Darius Garland.
To the great night of Irving and Durant was added a Bruce Brown who signed 18 pointsgrabbed nine rebounds and distributed eight assists, making the most of the spaces left by the rival defense, forced to focus on the two Nets stars.
The Cavs will play the last ticket for the playoffs next Friday against the Atlanta Hawks-Charlotte Hornets loserwho face this Wednesday.
The Miami Heat, leaders of the East in the regular season, will face next Sunday the team that comes out the winner and accesses the playoff table as eighth.
Irving 20 points with a spectacular shooting success
They marked territory from the start for the Nets with a resounding 40-20 run in the first quarter, led by eleven points from Kyrie Irving and eight from Kevin Durant. Steve Nash’s men converted 70% of their shots and added twice as many rebounds as the Cavs, completely at the mercy of their rivals.
Kevin Love’s 3-pointer at the buzzer led the Cavaliers on a 9-2 run to open the second quarter, but that wasn’t enough to stop Irving’s stellar night.
The former Cavs player, rookie of the year, NBA champion and four-time All-Star in his career, completed a perfect first half, with 20 points and nine of nine shooting. He sentenced her to the buzzer with a spectacular jump basket that drew a standing ovation from the Barclays Center.
His tremendous performance left in an anecdote the fact that the Nets barely scored two points in the first 5:40 of the second quarter. Irving, along with Durant, maintained the Nets’ lead at fourteen points (57-43) against some Cavs who accumulated lost balls, up to seven for just one of their rivals.
Far from just going for comfortable layups, Irving continued to take risks with his plays and adding hit after hit. With another eight points under his belt in the third period he went to the bench with two minutes left with his Nets ahead 81-64. He was 11 for 11 shooting and the spectators were cheering wildly for his amazing performance.
Of course, the Cavaliers had the merit of not melting completely. They managed to stay in the match mentally and cut the margin to twelve points (85-73) to enter the last period.
Durant appears to shut down the Cavs’ comeback attempt
Irving’s first error came with 10 minutes left in the fourth period, with a missed 3-pointer, coupled with a flagrant Goran Dragic to Garland that set the stage for a 16-4 run that allowed the Cavs to get closer to the 80-87.
Garland, who flagrantly suffered from Dragic for taking a hit to the groin, was the one who converted a great three-pointer to give his team full options.
That’s when Durant came into action, with the first triple of his night to give a 91-82 lead and curb rival enthusiasm.
Garland, based on triples, and the Finn Lauri Markannenwith a powerful mate, tried to rebel and brought their team closer to six pointsBut again Durant appeared as spoilsport.
“KD” sealed two wonderful jump shots that again gave his team a double-digit lead (103-93).
They were the blows that definitively put down a game that sent the Nets to the playoffs, in which the Boston Celtics await them.
