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BROOKLYN -- Less than 24 hours ago, all hope seemed lost for the Brooklyn Nets and their 38-44 season. Things changed and they needed some help along the way.
They'll make a third straight playoff appearance since arriving in Brooklyn. And it's all thanks to the Memphis Grizzlies ... and Bojan Bogdanovic
If the Grizzlies had lost and the Nets missed the playoffs, Brooklyn would've had to surrender a lottery pick to the Atlanta Hawks. They will still wind up with the Hawks' first round pick, at No. 29, but now they're giving up the No. 15, not potentially a top pick. The swap was included in the Joe Johnson deal. The most expensive team in the NBA missing the playoffs? That would've been a nightmare.
Somehow, some way the Brooklyn Nets prevailed.
Here's how it went down:
- The Pacers owned the eighth seed after a double overtime victory against the Washington Wizards Tuesday night. The Nets, who held the tiebreaker, would've passed Indiana had they lost in the double OT. No luck for Brooklyn, even though Washington played all their starters throughout. It was heartbreaking and the season felt lost.
- Down one game with only one game remaining. The Nets started play at 8:00, while the Pacers had to wait until 9:30 to go up against the Grizzlies. The Nets needed to beat Orlando (which they did) and then wait to see if Indiana lost in Memphis to advance.
- Many worried that Memphis would rest their starters, but the Spurs lost which meant with a win over Indiana, they would jump the standings in the West. Behind a 33-point, 13 rebound performance from Marc Gasol, the Memphis Grizzlies defeated the exhausted Pacers, 95-83.
Round one schedule:
Game 1: Nets @ Hawks, Sunday 5:30 -- TNT
Game 2: Nets @ Hawks, Wednesday 7:00 -- NBA TV
Game 3: Hawks @ Nets, Saturday 3:00 -- TNT
Game 4: Hawks @ Nets, TBD
- Win and Help Put Nets in Playoffs - Andrew Keh - New York Times
- Nets top Magic, 101-88, will head to playoffs and face Hawks in first round - Stefan Bondy - New York Daily News
- Nets defeat Magic, reach playoffs as Pacers lose - Rod Boone - Newsday
- Nets clinch postseason berth after Pacers lose to Grizzlies - AP
- Nets win season finale, get help and make playoffs - Tim Bontemps - New York Post
- Nets secure playoff spot with win and Pacers' loss - Andy Vasquez - The Record
- After late revival, Nets head into playoffs - Mike Mazzeo - ESPN New York
- With Win (and Pacers Loss), Nets Punch Playoff Ticket - Alex Raskin - Wall Street Journal
- THE BROOKLYN NETS MAKE THE PLAYOFFS - Devin Kharpertian - The Brooklyn Game
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Nets sneak into playoffs as Indiana falls in finale - Gregory Hrinya - Examiner
- Hello Playoffs! Nets Clinch A Spot Following Win Over Orlando - Lenn Robbins - Brooklyn Nets
- Series Preview: Nets - Hawks (Video) - NBA.com
- Hawks to face Nets in opening round (with schedule) - Chris Vivlamore - Atlanta Journal-Constitution