Nets beat Kings to clinch playoff berth
LAKEBUENAVISTA,FLA.>> Caris LeVert scored 22 points, Jarrett Allen added 17 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists and the patchwork Brooklyn Nets clinched a playoff berth by beating the Sacramento Kings 119-106 on Friday.
The surprising Nets came to the bubble without stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving but continued to display plenty of fight, improving to 3-2 since coming to Florida. Joe Harris added 21 points, shooting 8 of 11 from the field, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range.
“It’s been great to see these guys trust each other in the limited amount of time we’ve been together and embrace playing together,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said.
The Nets had a 78-62 lead midway through the third quarter but Bogdan Bogdanovic responded with five quick points to spark a Kings rally. Sacramento pulled within 80-76 before Garrett Temple’s 3-pointer got Brooklyn back on track.
Brooklyn pushed its advantage to 93-82 by the end of the third and kept a comfortable lead throughout the fourth. The Nets bounced back from a 149-115 loss to the Boston Celtics two nights before.
“We actually have a group of people who really like each other,” Nets guard Tyler Johnson said. “So we come back in, regroup, come in the next day and get ready to work. We don’t sit around and feel bad for ourselves. It’s a telltale sign of a maturing team.”
The Kings were one day removed from an impressive 140125 win over the New Orleans Pelicans but couldn’t string together two wins and fell further behind in a crowded race for the final Western Conference playoff spot. Sacramento is 1-4 in the bubble.
“It’s frustrating because coming into this game we knew it was more mental than physical,” Kings forward Harrison Barnes said. “It was meeting force with force. It was being disciplined. It doesn’t matter what scheme we have or gameplan we have, when you don’t have the effort needed to execute it doesn’t matter. And tonight, we did not play with that effort.”
Bogdanovic led the Kings with 27 points after scoring a careerhigh 35 against the Pelicans on Thursday. De’Aaron Fox added 21 and Buddy Hield added 17.
GRIZZLIES 121, THUNDER 92 >> Dillon Brooks scored 22 points, and Memphis claimed its first win since the restart, beating Oklahoma.
Jonas Valanciunas had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Ja Morant had 19 points and nine assists for the Grizzlies.
Memphis shot 55% and avoided falling into a tie with Portland for eight place in the Western Conference standings.
Chris Paul scored 17 points and Luguentz Dort added 16 for the Thunder. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City’s leading scorer this season, finished with 10 points on 3-for-13 shooting.
Oklahoma City led by 18 in the first quarter, but the Grizzlies rallied to take the lead in the second. Memphis led by nine in the final seconds of the first half. The Grizzlies outscored the Thunder 32-18 in the third quarter to go up 95-78 at the end of the period.
SPURS 119, JAZZ 111 >> Derrick White scored 24 points, Jakob Poelti added 19 points and 10 rebounds and San Antonio got a muchneeded win over short-handed Utah.
Lonnie Walker and Rudy Gay finished with 14 points for the Spurs, who moved into sole possession of 10th place in the Western Conference, a half-game ahead of surging Phoenix. The Suns are 4-0 since the NBA restart, but were idle Friday.
Jordan Clarkson scored 24 points off the bench to lead the Jazz, while Tony Bradley had 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and 11 rebounds.
Rudy Gobert (rest), Donovan Mitchell (left peroneal strain) and Mike Conley (right knee soreness) did not play for the Jazz, who were held to 41.8% shooting from the floor. Royce O’Neale (right calf soreness) and Nigel Williams-Goss (left ankle sprain) also sat out.
76ERS 108, MAGIC 101 >> Tobias Harris had 23 points and 15 rebounds, Joel Embiid turned in a strong second half and finished with 23 points and 13 rebounds and Philadelphia held off Orlando in their first game without All-Star Ben Simmons.
Simmons is out indefinitely after injuring his knee Wednesday night.
Alec Burks had 22 points off the bench and Al Horford stepped into the starting lineup and finished with 21 points and nine rebounds.