The Brooklyn Nets clinched a spot in the playoffs with a win over Magic and a Pacers loss to the Grizzlies.
The Brooklyn Nets clinched a playoff berth for the third consecutive year. Brooklyn took care of business with a 101-88 win against the Orlando Magic earlier in the night, then needed the Grizzlies to beat the Pacers to reach the playoffs. That's exactly what happened, as Memphis beat Indiana 95-83 to ensure another playoff trip for the Nets.
Brooklyn will be the No. 8 seed in the East and face the Atlanta Hawks in the first round. The Nets haven't missed the playoffs since moving to Brooklyn in the summer of 2012. Last season they lost in the Eastern Conference semifinals to the Miami Heat.
Much has changed for the Nets since then. Jason Kidd is no longer the coach, Lionel Hollins is leading the way for Brooklyn instead. Paul Pierce left the team for the Washington Wizards in the offseason as well. At the trade deadline, the Nets dealt Kevin Garnett to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Thaddeus Young. The core of Brook Lopez, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson held over from last year's team.
On March 11, the Nets' season appeared over. They had just lost their fifth straight to fall to 25-38 and 3.5 games out of the eighth and final playoff spot. They turned the season around, though, winning 12 of their next 16 games to climb right back into the playoff picture.
Lopez was instrumental in the Nets' turnaround. The team's leading scorer and rebounder is averaging over 17 points and 7 rebounds per game. He's been on fire to close out the season -- since March 11, he is averaging nearly 22 points and 10 rebounds per game.
The end of the season hasn't been perfect, with the team getting blown out in back-to-back games with opportunities to clinch, but end result is still impressive. After fighting off that impressive charge from the Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn is back in the postseason.
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