Nets secure playoff spot with 119-106 win over Kings
The Brooklyn Nets are headed to the playoffs.
With a 119-106 win over the Kings on Friday, the Nets secured their standing as an Eastern Conference playoff team. The only thing left to decide is who their playoff opponent will be: the Milwaukee Bucks or the Toronto Raptors.
It is the Nets’ second season in a row as a playoff team after a three-year postseason drought.
The Nets all but dominated the Kings from the tip to the final buzzer. Brooklyn built a lead as big as 16, but watched Sacramento cut it down to as few as four. The Nets then ran the score up to a 20-point lead they never relented. It was an impressive win against a talented Kings team, albeit on tired legs after defeating the Pelicans one day earlier on Thursday.
The Nets had an opportunity to clinch their playoff standing on Wednesday but failed to do so. Instead, they were pelted from 3-point range by a Celtics team that lit it up from deep, shooting 20 of 39 from 3 in a 34-point win.
The Nets did not suffer the same fate on Friday. The Kings made 11 3s but it took them 39 attempts to get there.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn shot 42.5% from 3, picking up where they left off in their stunning win over the Milwaukee Bucks. The Nets shot 17 of 40 from 3, led by Joe Harris, who shot 5 of 7 from downtown.
Had the Nets lost on Friday, their playoff standing still would have been likely. The Nets also would have clinched a playoff spot with a Wizards loss, and they would have needed to lose their remaining three games while the Wizards won out to force a play-in tournament.
The challenge now shifts gears toward jockeying for playoff positioning.
The Nets are one game ahead of the Orlando Magic, pending their result against the Philadelphia 76ers. They will also have to play the Magic one more time this season.
The loser of that game will more than likely have to face Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks in the first round of the playoffs. Even though Brooklyn pulled the upset, the Nets want to avoid Antetokounmpo at all costs — even if the loaded Raptors aren’t much better of a first-round draw.
The Nets can create even more separation by keeping the ball rolling. It won’t be easy: Brooklyn has Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers next up on the docket.
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