Tampa (Florida, USA), Apr 27 (EFE) .- Forward Kevin Durant contributed the decisive goals that allowed the Brooklyn Nets to easily beat the Toronto Raptors at home 103-116 and became the first team in the Eastern Conference that secured the passage to the playoffs.
Durant scored seven of his 17 points in the fourth quarter, power forward Jeff Green had 22 points as the Nets’ leading scorer (42-20), which consolidated their position as leaders in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference.
The Nets star forward, who was playing his second game after returning from a thigh injury, added 10 rebounds in 33 minutes for his eighth double-double of the season.
Durant hit a 3-pointer with 1:47 left and looked at the Toronto bench after putting his team up 101-111.
Point guard Kyrie Irving finished with nine points, six rebounds and four assists while making just 3 of 13 shots from the field, making Durant’s contribution even more important.
Like the other seven Nets who played and had double-digit numbers the night Brooklyn made history by being the first in the East to secure a playoff spot.
The Nets won for the third time in a row and fourth time in five games to prevent Toronto from making the sweep of the season.
The Raptors, who were led by guard Kyle Lowry’s 24 points and six 3-pointers, ended their five-game winning streak at home.
While the English forward OG Anunoby scored 21 as Toronto’s second highest scorer (26-36).
One of those victories was the Nets’ 114-103 loss in Tampa last week.
Newly hired point guard Mike James scored all of his 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Nets rallied from an 83-80 deficit to start the final period.
Power forward Blake Griffin scored 17 points as a backup, while forward Joe Harris added 16 points and four 3-pointers.
Brooklyn was 48 percent accurate on 3s, scoring 18 3s and dishing out 30 assists.
Toronto was in action less than 24 hours after beating Cleveland 112-96 in Tampa on Monday.
Back-to-back games have been a problem all season for the Raptors, who are 2-12 on the second night of games in a row.
(c) EFE Agency