Irving, Durant lead Nets to 7th in East
Four wins in the final week sent the Brooklyn Nets surging up to seventh in the Eastern Conference.
One more win sends them to the playoffs.
“Now we get to carry some of that momentum on into Tuesday,” Kyrie Irving said.
Irving scored 35 points, Kevin Durant had 20 points, a career-high 16 assists and 10 rebounds and the Nets locked up seventh place with a 134-126 victory over the Indiana Pacers in New York on Sunday.
The Nets will host No. 8 Cleveland on Tuesday in the play-in tournament, with the winner moving into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed. The loser will have a second chance by hosting the winner of the game between the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds on Friday.
Brooklyn and Cleveland both finished 44-38, but the Nets won the season series to take the tiebreaker.
Durant shot just 5-for-17 from the field but finished with his fourth triple-double, his highest total in any season. Andre Drummond added 20 points, shooting 9-for-9, and 13 rebounds. Bruce Brown scored 21 points in the Nets’ fourth straight victory to wrap up the regular season.
Cavaliers 133, Bucks 115:
Kevin Love made eight 3-pointers and scored 32 points and host Cleveland beat Milwaukee to take the No. 8 play-in spot and a matchup against Brooklyn.
Love did all his damage in 15 minutes, matching his career high for 3s and adding 10 rebounds. Rookie Evan Mobley added 18 points and 10 rebounds.
Hawks 130, Rockets 114: Trae Young had 28 points and 11 assists and visiting Atlanta wrapped up the regular season with a victory over Houston. The Hawks finished ninth in the Eastern Conference and will host 10th-seeded Charlotte on Wednesday in the play-in tournament.
Jalen Green, the second overall pick in the draft, had a season-high 41 points for the Rockets. They lost their seventh straight game to finish 20-62, giving them the NBA’s worst record for a second straight season.
Hornets 124, Wizards 108:
Terry Rozier had 25 points, LaMelo Ball added 24 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists and host Charlotte beat Washington
The Hornets finished 4339and will be the 10th seed in the East for the second straight year.
76ers 118, Pistons 106: Joel Embiid sat out after he clinched the scoring title and James Harden joined him on the bench, leaving Shake Milton and Tyrese Maxey to lead host Philadelphia over Detroit.
The Sixers finished with the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs and will open against Toronto.
Celtics 139, Grizzlies 110: Jayson Tatum scored 31 points, Jaylen Brown added 18 and Boston secured the second seed in the East, beating host Memphis.
Santi Aldama led Memphis with 20 points, and Ziaire Williams finished with 18 points.
Magic 125, Heat 111: Mo Bamba and R.J. Hampton each scored 21 points and Orlando beat Miami.
Knicks 105, Raptors 94: Obi Toppin scored a career-high 42 points, Immanuel Quickley had 34 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds and New York beat Toronto.