The Nets weren’t nice Tuesday evening, however Kyrie Irving acquired on hearth, they acquired lucky, and that was sufficient handy them management of their very own future.
An enormous evening by Irving, a 118-105 win over Houston, and losses by all of their play-in competitors bumped Brooklyn up from tenth within the Japanese Convention to eighth and gave them the data that in the event that they win out, they'll end seventh.
“Ohh,” Irving perked up when informed after his 42-point outing. “Clearly we need to land in a greater spot than we are actually. And if different groups are serving to us out, then I’m grateful for that. … It is a totally different situation, this play-in event deal. It places you able the place you’ve acquired to rise your recreation as much as the problem.
“Getting a win after which seeing how the uncontrollable outcomes or the opposite video games influence us, we’d reasonably be within the driver’s seat and sit comfortably and be capable to management our personal future.”
Irving, who shot simply 36.2 % in his earlier 5 video games, snapped out of his mini-slump. He attacked the rim, attacked the Rockets and lifted the Nets (41-38) to inside two video games of seventh-place Cleveland. They climbed to eighth within the East, because of the season-series tiebreaker with Atlanta, and edged a recreation forward of Charlotte.
With simply three video games left — on the Knicks Wednesday, Cleveland Friday and Indiana Sunday — if the Nets win out, they’ll be assured the seventh seed, and host a play-in recreation. They’d want only a lone win to clinch the playoffs, and have the protection blanket of double-elimination.
“I feel it will be nice. It could be nice to be seventh. Higher than eighth. Eighth higher than ninth,” Steve Nash mentioned. “On the identical time I feel there’s a steadiness to be struck right here. We need to win all of the video games, we need to end seventh, we need to have the play-in at residence and a possibility to go in on one recreation. … We’ve additionally acquired to steadiness that with our progress, with all of the accidents, ensuring guys can get via in a single piece as doable.”
Kevin Durant had 18 factors, Bruce Brown 15 and Cam Thomas completed with 13.
Irving had 11 fast factors to identify the Nets to a 25-18 lead proper out of the gate.
And even after they fell asleep and let the Rockets climb again into it — a working dunk by Jalen Inexperienced (30 factors) knotting it at 32-all with 10:13 left within the half — they'd no drawback with Houston.
The Nets responded by reeling off 10 unanswered factors, highlighted by a sequence that noticed them — with an enormous frontcourt of little-used LaMarcus Aldridge, Nic Claxton and Durant enjoying collectively — crash the boards for 4 consecutive offensive rebounds, capped by a technical and an Irving free throw.
That made it 39-32, and Brown’s 3-pointer on the following possession padded the cushion to double figures.
The Nets went into the locker room up 64-47 because of 22 factors from Irving. It was their greatest halftime lead at residence since Jan. 15 versus New Orleans, after holding the Rockets to 37.7 % capturing and 4 of twenty-two from deep.
The Nets led by 21 within the third quarter and held off an enormous Houston rally. Kevin Porter Jr. (36 factors) pulled the Rockets inside 90-84, however no nearer as Irving stemmed the tide with a midrange jumper and improved protection.
“It wasn’t an important efficiency. I don’t assume anybody within the locker room feels prefer it was an important efficiency,” Nash mentioned. “Suppose we gave up too many offensive rebounds, misplaced too many free balls. It's a trickier crew to play than the file.
“We discovered a approach. We weathered some tough patches. In all probability ought to have saved the lead at 20 within the second half however they went on I feel a 17-0 run. The progress alternative is [Wednesday] evening.”
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