The NBA playoffs officially began, and in the final battle of the regular season this season, they successfully defeated the Pacers, thus locking in the Brooklyn Nets in the seventh place in the East and ushering in the highly anticipated first round of playoffs. According to the rules of the league playoffs, as long as the Nets win the game in the first round of the playoffs, they can successfully get tickets to the playoffs. Their opponent in the first round was the Cavaliers from Cleveland, a team determined to return to the playoffs. After years of dormancy, the Cavaliers finally played some value in the process of rebuilding the team, and the Nets wanted to qualify easily, perhaps not so easily.
However, in terms of the lineups of the two teams, Durant and Irving clearly have a better chance of leading the team to victory. So, how exactly is the specific competition between the two sides, let's continue to look down. At the beginning of the game, the Nets, who played at home, took the lead and got the advantage of a big score. Durant played 12 minutes of the first quarter, with 100% shooting, sending 8 points, 2 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 blocks, making a lot of contributions at both ends of the offensive and defensive ends.
At the same time, Irving did not drag his feet, also with 100% shooting rate of 5-of-5 shooting, sending 11 points and 4 assists. With the continuous efforts of superstar players, the Nets scored 40-20 in the first quarter of the game, taking a 20-point lead. Entering the second quarter of the showdown, the Nets side fell into a scoring drought, Irving continued to threaten in the second quarter, handing over 9 points did not work, the whole team only got 17 points in the second quarter. There is no doubt that the Cavaliers, who seized the opportunity, fought back and chased back the 6 points they trailed in the first quarter with a score of 23-17.
At the end of the first half of the game, the gap between the two sides was narrowed to 14 points, and the Nets still occupied the initiative to take the lead. And the Easy Side fights again, and the Cavaliers who have achieved good results in chasing points can also take advantage of the victory to pursue and continue to achieve counterattack. Durant handed over 4 points, 4 assists and 1 steal in the third quarter, and Irving also had 8 points, 1 rebound and 5 assists, effectively connecting the team's overall offense but did not work, but was still played out of the Cavaliers, with a 30-28 score, chasing down 2 points. By the time it reached the crucial final showdown, the gap had narrowed to 12 points. The Cavaliers may indeed be able to achieve a final reversal.
But how could the Nets compromise so easily? In the final quarter of the decisive victory, the Cavaliers were in good shape and continued to chase points, but Durant and Irving could lead the team to always bite the lead and not let go. As regular time continued to be consumed, the Cavaliers scored 35-30 in the final quarter with Garland's 16-point contribution, recovering the previous 5 points, but after the fourth quarter of regular time, the Nets still had a 115-108 score, won the game, and qualified from the playoff zone early.
To be sure, Durant and Eurowen played 42 minutes in the match, which can be described as a best effort. Among them, Durant won 16 shots in a single game, delivered a key 25 points, and 5 rebounds and 11 assists, showing aggression on the offensive end. And Irving shot 11 of 11 in the first three quarters, 12 of 15 in the whole game, and delivered the team's highest score of 34 points, as well as 3 rebounds and 12 assists, becoming the biggest contributor to the game. After winning that game, the Nets also officially locked up the seventh place in the Eastern Conference in the playoffs, and the next first round of the playoffs will take on the Boston Celtics.
As Durant said, everything will be zeroed out and all the teams will start all over again. Obviously, it is still very advantageous for the Nets, who are now playing the favorite team to win the championship, and their championship giants will surely show unparalleled offensive aggression.