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Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant lead Brooklyn Nets over Cleveland Cavaliers in play-in game
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- Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant lead Brooklyn Nets over Cleveland Cavaliers in play-in game
NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving had 34 points and 12 assists, Kevin Durant added 25 points and 11 assists, and the Brooklyn Nets took the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference by beating the Cavaliers 115-108 on Tuesday night in the play-in opener.
The Nets raced to a 20-point lead after one quarter and turned the Cavaliers away time and time again to earn a matchup against the No. 2 seed Boston Celtics in a series that begins Sunday.
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Irving made his first 12 shots before a 3-pointer rimmed out in the fourth quarter. He finished 12 for 15.
A preseason NBA Finals favorite who sputtered through a turbulent season and were in 10th place entering the last week of the regular season, the Nets have run off five consecutive wins. With Durant and Irving, they are far more dangerous than the usual No. 7 seed.
And both are willing to give the ball to teammates who are capitalizing when they get it. Bruce Brown had 18 points, nine rebounds and eight assists, and Andre Drummond scored 16 points.
Darius Garland scored 34 points for the Cavaliers, who have another chance to earn the No. 8 seed. They will host the winner of the play-in game between the Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte Hornets on Friday, with the winner moving on to face the No. 1 seed Miami Heat .
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The Nets and Cavs both went 44-38 but the Nets clinched the tiebreaker by beating the Cavs at Barclays Center last Friday to finish 3-1 in the season series. The Cavs were confident they could come back to Brooklyn and win, though it was clear quickly just how difficult that would be.
The Nets made nearly 71% of their shots in the first quarter — Irving and Durant combined to make all eight of theirs — and closed the period with a 15-3 spurt that made it 40-20.
It was a bigger lead than the Nets had in any first quarter during the regular season.
The offense sputtered, as it usually does, when Durant went to the bench to start the second and the Cavs went on a 9-2 run to cut it to 13. The margin stayed right around there the remainder of the half, with the Cavs missing a number of open looks before Irving's jumper at the buzzer made it 57-43. That made him 9 for 9 at the break.
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The Cavaliers, trying to extend a surprising season in which they doubled their win total from a season ago, kept chipping away in the second half.
Nic Claxton had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Nets.
Tip-ins
Cavaliers: Evan Mobley scored 19 points and Kevin Love had 14 points and 13 rebounds. ... The Cavaliers remained without All-Star center Jarrett Allen because of a broken finger.
Nets:Irving's 9-for-9 first half wasn't even his best for the Nets. He was 10 for 10 against the Chicago Bulls on Jan. 31, 2020. ... The Nets went 1-3 against the Celtics during the regular season. The Nets beat the Celtics 4-1 in the first round last season. ... Goran Dragic returned after missing the end of the regular season in health and safety protocols. He had three points in 10 minutes.
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Subway shooting
The Nets and the New York Liberty Foundation announced before a moment of silence that they were donating $50,000 to help those who were injured after at least 10 people were shot on a subway Tuesday. The shooting occurred at the subway stop closest to the Nets' training facility.
Simmons' status
Nets coach Steve Nash said Ben Simmons is moving better and doing more shooting, but there still was no timetable for when he could finally play for the Nets. Simmons has battled back problems since not long after being acquired from Philadelphia in February.
"So definitely positive signs, improving and moving and all those things, but like I said he hasn't been running full speed or playing against anybody," Nash said. "So still a lot of markers to meet."
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Center of attention
Allen seemed poised to return for the play-in game, but the Cavaliers' big man isn't quite ready.
Cavs coach J.B. Bickerstaff said the All-Star, who came to the Cavs from the Nets in a trade last season, did individual drills the past two days, when the team's focus at practice had to be on the available players to get ready for the Nets.
"He's doing well," said Bickerstaff, who has been without Allen for more than a month. "He's working out; he's starting to do more with both hands. We're just kind of in a wait-and-see."
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant lead Brooklyn Nets over Cleveland Cavaliers
