MANILA – Brooklyn Nets secured the no.2 seat in the Eastern Conference with a 123-109 whipping of Cleveland Cavaliers on Monday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Kevin Durant had a near triple-double performance of 23 points, 13 assists, and eight rebounds while Kyrie Irving and Mike James fired 17 and 14 markers, respectively, for Brooklyn.
The Nets set the tone early with baskets from Durant and Irving for a 34-24 advantage. The lead stayed in double figures for Brooklyn at the half with the second quarter exploits of James.
The Cavaliers were able to come close early in the third period, but Durant steadied the ship for the Nets with consecutive hits to bring the lead back to 20 points at the onset of the fourth.
The victory secured Brooklyn the second seed in the Eastern Conference with its 48-24 win-loss slate. The Nets will face the winner of the Boston Celtics-Washington Wizards play-in tournament game in the first round of National Basketball Association playoffs starting this weekend.
Dean Wade and Isaac Okoro finished with 18 points each, while Damyean Dotson and Collin Sexton added 17 and 16 markers, respectively, as the Cavaliers ended their season with a 22-50 record.
Philadelphia 76ers, meanwhile, secured the top-seed in the East with its 49-23 record after a 128-117 beating of Orlando Magic. Rookie Tyrese Maxey tallied 30 markers to lead the 76ers.
The 76ers will battle the no.8 seed team in the playoffs, which will be determined after the play-in tournament between Celtics, Wizards, Indiana Pacers, and Charlotte Hornets.
Milwaukee Bucks (46-26), on the other hand, settled for the third seed in the East after a 118-112 defeat to Chicago Bulls. They will tangle with no.6 seed Miami Heat (40-32).
New York Knicks (41-31), for its part, occupied the fourth spot with its 96-92 victory over the Celtics. The Knicks, which will have a homecourt edge over no. 5 Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the playoffs.
BOX SCORE:
BROOKLYN 123 – Durant 23, Irving 17, James 14, Green 13, Shamet 12, Brown 12, T. Johnson 10, Griffin 9, Luwawu-Cabarrot 7, Claxton 4, A. Johnson 2, Perry 0.
CLEVELAND 109 – Wade 18, Okoro 18, Dotson 17, Sexton 16, Thomas 14, Allen 9, Kabengele 8, Osman 5, Martin 4.
QUARTERSCORES:
34-24, 67-56, 99-76, 123-109./PN
