Scoreboard
Bucks 131, Pistons 101
Knicks 114, Wizards 92
Nets 118, Cavaliers 107
Raptors 117, Rockets 115
Heat 113, Hawks 109
Hornets 133, Bulls 117
Mavericks 128, Trail Blazers 78
Suns 111, Jazz 105
Lakers 120, Thunder 101
What went down
The Nets grabbed the wheel of the seventh seed after beating the Cavaliers.
Kevin Durant fired 36 points on 11-for-20 shooting, including 4-for-6 from deep, on top of five rebounds, five assists, and two blocks. He was also an immaculate 10-for-10 from the charity stripe. Fellow star Kyrie Irving tallied 18 points, six rebounds, eight assists, and two steals to overcome a poor shooting night. The Nets outscored their opponents, 35-19, in the fourth quarter to get the victory.
For the Cavaliers, Darius Garland had 31 points in a losing effort.
Brooklyn and Cleveland have identical 43-38 records and it will go down to each of their final games to determine their seeding in the Play-In Tournament. The Nets have the tiebreaker over the Cavs and if they hold on to the seventh seed, they’ll need just one victory to enter the playoffs. The loser of the No. 7 and No. 8 match will have to face the winner of the No. 9 vs. No.10 game.
Big-time baller
Luka Doncic exploded for 39 points on the lowly Trail Blazers. Aside from his superb 57.1 percent shooting and seven 3-pointers, he also added 11 rebounds and seven assists.
You know the magic was on when he scored 25 points in the third quarter alone to match the entire output of the Portland team.
What he said
There may be a notion that some teams in the East don’t want to face the Nets in the playoffs and would rather take their chances on the Cavaliers. Cleveland coach J.B. Bickerstaff understands that view but he knows the potential of his squad.
''I mean, the perception or the reality of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and the pieces that are around this team and the way that they're coached, you can understand why people would want to do that,'' Bickerstaff said postgame. ''But I'll tell you this, if we're healthy, we're not a team people want to face.''
Did you see that?
We all know Jalen Green can soar for the dunk, but take a look at how high he got up for this rejection:
The BLOCK! THE DUNK! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/8n1MDkUR22
— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) April 9, 2022
But the Raptors got the last laugh in this game as Gary Trent Jr. delivered the killing blow:
GARY TRENT JR. WINS IT FOR THE @RAPTORS, WHO TRAILED BY 24! pic.twitter.com/6zlHJ99jol
— NBA (@NBA) April 9, 2022
