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Nets Clinch Playoffs Berth
The Brooklyn Nets entered the Barclays Center Tuesday night as they were ready to take on their next opponent. To the Nets it really didn’t matter what team was walking through the opposing doors because Brooklyn was at home, and the Nets have been unbeatable at home as of late. Brooklyn entered the game on a franchise tying 13 wins in a row. All is going well so far for the Nets, but tonight was a game that had more meaning than most. Brooklyn was set to play the Houston Rockets, a team that has beaten the Nets in 14 straight games, and also a high seeded Western Conference team. However, if the Nets were to beat Houston they would clinch a playoff berth and be one step closer to home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.
The game started and with the great depth of the Nets roster, fans were waiting to see who would step up big to lead Brooklyn for the game. It didn’t take long to see that Joe Johnson was feeling it as usual when he started the game by putting up 17 first half points. On the other hand Omer Asik had 13 rebounds in just the first half as the Rockets had 11 second chance points to the Nets two. The Nets also weren’t shooting well from behind the arc as they were 1 for 11 on 3-point attempts and against a West coast team many would think the game wasn’t very close. However Brooklyn was able to hold down a good post game, putting up 28 points in the paint, and take advantage of mismatches along with a strong defense to lead the Nets into the half 54-51.
The Nets showed no signs of stopping as they opened the second half on a 11-4 run adding to their lead. Houston tried combatting the Nets scoring but Brooklyn’s stifling defense held strong throughout as they held Houston to under 40% shooting, holding them under 100 for the game. That alone says a lot for this Nets team as Houston has been averaging 116 points per game and has been the NBA’s highest scoring team. The Nets went on to put up 51 points in the second half and won the game 105-96, clinching a playoff berth and setting a new franchise record for consecutive wins at home. Brooklyn had six players score in double figures. With the Nets playing so well at home this year, they have to play hard the rest off the way to try and claim the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference. They face off with their rival New York Knicks tomorrow night at the Garden.
Game Notes:
- Brooklyn clinches playoff berth.
- Dwight Howard did not play, missing 5 of last 7 games
- Nets hold Rockets to 38% shooting on the game.
- Nets Coach Jason Kidd awarded Eastern Conference Coach of the Month
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