New York, April 12 (US): Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving have played in the NBA Finals and Olympics, so they’ve been in every kind of big game.
Championship play is something new for them, and the Brooklyn Nets certainly didn’t expect to try it this year, the AP reports.
The Cleveland Cavaliers weren’t sure they’d do that either after losing 50 games last season. Now a team will extend their season to the playoffs by winning the inaugural game of the tournament Tuesday night in Brooklyn.
“Let’s begin,” Irving said.
Both finished 44-38, with the Nets taking seventh place with a 3-1 lead against the Cavaliers. They concluded Friday’s tiebreak with a victory over Cleveland 118-107, although that did nothing to make the Caves believe they couldn’t go to Brooklyn and win five nights later.
“We think we can beat anyone in this league,” said coach JB Bickerstaff. “We just have to play our best basketball. We know what we’re up against.”
They are facing a team that was expected to be at the top of the Eastern Conference, and one still trying to make their way past the season. But Irving was not able to play at home until late last month because he had not been vaccinated against the Corona virus. Durant missed 21 games due to a sprained left knee. James Harden was replaced by Ben Simmons, who did not play due to back problems.
“For us, we know we can find every excuse in the world for what has happened this season,” Irving said. “A lot of different things happened, ups and downs, and now we’re finally here, and we’re able to perform with each other for the first time in a high intensity environment like qualifying.”
He made the biggest kick in Cavaliers history, completing his 3-1 comeback in the 2016 NBA Finals. Durant was the MVP of the next two NBA Finals and holds three Olympic gold medals. Both were the best players in the World Basketball Championship and said this game would feel like they were late in a playoff series.
“The 7s, the Olympics, just go play,” Durant said. “I mean, I can’t put too much pressure on yourself. We understand how important the game really is, so the best thing you can do is play for free and stick to your game plan and trust your teammates, and I think that’s usually what you’re trying to do with these games, we’ll see What happens. “
The winner takes seed No. 7 and faces Boston No. 2 in the first-round series that begins on Sunday. The loser gets a second chance to reach eighth, hosting the winner of Friday’s Atlanta-Charlotte match for the right to play top-seeded Miami.
The Cavaliers looked easily destined for post-season before stumbling along the field after All-Star player Garrett Allen lost to a broken finger. He is not expected to return to face his former team, but the Cavaliers already knew they had to play hard, with or without him.
“JB likes to say winning the scraps and all our battles we won in the trenches. That’s what it should be on Tuesday night,” striker Kevin Love said.
Other things to know:
aline out
The 7-foot Cavaliers were included in their injury report on Monday.
He went through an intense workout that included shooting practice before Sunday’s game as Cleveland’s front-office members kept a close eye on his every move. Allen has only attached his injured finger to another after wearing a protective splint for most of the past few weeks.
Allen hasn’t played since picking up an injury on March 6, and the Cavs wouldn’t have been the same without him. They’ve gone 3-8 in their last 11 games and had no answer under on Friday for Nets quarterback Andre Drummond, who has 15 points and 12 rebounds.
“He’s obviously the anchor of defense and the things he can do offensively and help the other players,” said Lauri Markkanen. “And I think we obviously miss him a lot.”
props to play
Durant and Irving were asked what they thought of the match, which in its first season of current form the Lakers defeated Golden State in the opening round last year.
“Well No. 1, I think there’s somebody in the back room swinging, no matter who created the championship play, because last year you got Steve and LeBron,” Irving said. “This year, you and KD will face me and the Cavs in a playoff game, and then you’ll have, at the Western Conference, Minnesota and the Clippers.”
team transformation
The Cavs’ rebuilding went from doldrums to supersonic in one season.
Cleveland wasn’t expected to compete in 2022, let’s double their win total and be among the best Eastern teams despite an extraordinary string of injuries.
Bickerstaff felt something special about his young group at training camp.
“That’s what we were expecting,” he said before Sunday’s win over Milwaukee. “From those early moments, we felt like we had something brewing. We’ve been hit really hard and some areas where we haven’t really had a chance to see what we’re still in as a group.
“But once we got this group together, we knew they had a chance to be a good basketball team. And ups and downs and bumps and bruises, those kinds of things, we’re here and we have a chance to keep playing.”