The Brooklyn Nets and Cleveland Cavaliers met in the play-in tournament a year ago.
The Nets (39-32) are attempting to avoid a play-in game by remaining in the top six of the Eastern Conference, whereas the Cavaliers (45-28) are in a favorable position for the home court in the first round this time.
Beginning Tuesday night, when the teams play consecutive games in New York, Cleveland has the potential to strengthen its position while also having a negative impact on the Nets. Thursday night will be the second game in the set.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are two and a half games ahead of the fifth-place New York Knicks going into Monday’s games as they travel to Brooklyn. After losing three straight from February 15 to 24, the Cavaliers have won seven of their last ten games to maintain their fourth-place position.
Cleveland has scored at least 110 points in nine of its last 11 games, including the 117-94 victory over the Washington Wizards on Friday. It was the 12th time this season that the Cavaliers shot at least 55% from the field, even though they missed 15 of 19 3-point attempts.
Darius Garland added nine assists to his 24 points on 11-of-19 shooting in the victory on Friday. Despite shooting 1-of-5 from three-point range, where he is 6-for-26 in his past four games, Garland led the team in scoring.
Donovan Mitchell scored 20 focuses notwithstanding going 0-of-6 from 3-point range. Mitchell has scored 40 points in three of his last eight games, despite shooting just 1-of-19 from distance in those three games.
On December 26, Brooklyn defeated Cleveland 125-117, snapping a 12-game winning streak, to move into second place in the East. The team shot 57.3 percent of its shots. The Nets are currently one game ahead of the seventh-place Miami Heat, who are attempting to end their fourth four-game losing streak.
Between February 24 and March 1, Brooklyn went on a four-game losing streak, losing three games by double digits and allowing an average of 130 points per game. Following the skid, the Nets won five of their next six games, averaging 101.7 points in losses to Oklahoma City, Sacramento, and Denver.
The Nets lost their first game of the skid, 121-107, after blowing a 10-point halftime lead. However, in their next two games, against Sacramento and Denver, Brooklyn lost the game in the first half. The Nets trailed by 12 after the first quarter and 15 at halftime in Sunday’s 108-102 loss to the Nuggets, and only a late push made the score respectable.
In their last 15 games, the Nets have allowed 52.5 percent shooting and have been outrebounded 12 times.
Nic Claxton added 19 points and Mikal Bridges scored 23 points, marking his fifth consecutive game with at least 20 points. However, other players struggled to get into the flow of the game. Cameron Johnson scored 14, but he only made one of six attempts from three-point range. As a Net, he is shooting 33.6% (36-of-107) from behind the arc.
