Cavaliers 108 vs. 115 Nets summary: stats and highlights | NBA Play-In Tournament

After a long season, the Nets are in the playoffs. Kyrie is keeping it postive through all the ups and downs.

The Brooklyn Nets are on to the first round of the NBA Playoffs after defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers in the opening game of the Play-In Tournament. Kyrie Irving’s sensational shooting lead the Nets to the 115-108 win.

Hot shooting start sets tone for Nets

The two teams just played on last Friday night and the Play-In on Tuesday game took a very similar shape in the first 12 minutes. The Nets jumped out to a big lead early thanks to some fantastic shooting in the opening quarter.

Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant led the charge from the start as the Nets doubled the Cavs score, 40-20, while shooting 71%. Durant and Irving were a perfect 8/8 in the first quarter, combining for 19 points.

Cleveland came back with a mini burst out of the quarter change and the Nets scored just 10 points ten minutes of the second half.  Brooklyn came to life in the final two minute before the half, but still went in to the break up 57-43.

Kyrie hits 12 of first 12 FGs

While Durant missed a shot in the first half, Kyrie went into the locker room perfect through 24 minutes. He would end up making his first 12 fg attempts.

Irving and the Nets would keep their distance from Cleveland up until the late stages of the fourth quarter. A 7-0 run by the Cavs at the end of the third quarter gave the visitors a breath of new life heading into the final 12 minutes of the game.

Third year guard Darius Garland was the driving force in the Cleveland offense all night long, and really came to life in the Cavs comeback bid late in the game. The one time 22 point lead was cut down to five points midway through the fourth quarter.

Net to play Celtics, Cavs get another chance

With Kyrie Irving having cooled off from his perfect start, it was Kevin Durant who took center stage and had three clutch jumpers when the Cavaliers looked on the verge of tying the game up.

A couple of late game Irving free throws sealed the game for the Nets, and sealed him another brilliant performance under his home roof. The former Cavalier scored 34 points on 10-13 shooting and also dished out 12 assists.

The Nets take the seventh seed and move on to the first round of the NBA Playoffs where they will take on the Boston Celtics. The Cavaliers will have another chance to take the last spot in the East when they play the winner of the Charlotte Hornets- Atlanta Hawks game.

KD took a back seat to Kyrie for three quarters, but when the Nets needed buckets late, No. 7 delivered

It's going to be very tough to keep these two quiet during the playoffs.

Drummond had a productive day with 16 points and 8 rebounds.

Kyrie beats the buzzer before the halftime buzzer to stay perfect on the night.

This buzzer beater should have been enough of a warning that Irving was about to have a big night.

Everything was falling for Kyrie, who made his first 12 shots of the night.

That's how you run the break. KD finds Kyrie on the touch pass for the easy lay up.

KD did it all against the Cavs. His block led to an easy dunk to Drummond in tranistion.

It's all over!! The Brooklyn Nets are on to the NBA Playoffs and they will take on the 2nd seed Boston Celtics.

Mobley gets right to the rack and this the Cavs are still fighting late in the game.

Irving with a couple of FTs to add to his near perfect night.

Garland with another lay up after two KD FTs

Garland hits a three and says not so fast

Kyrie feeds Brown after letting the shot clock wind all the way down!. Perfect play for the Nets who needed points and to wind the clock. They got both and this game is all but in the books.

Brown to Claxton and there is the cherry on top for the Nets!

The Barclays Center is on their feet sensing thier Nets are moving on to the first round of the playoffs.

Claxton on the easy finish from the feed by KD.

Rondo getting to the iron and finishing with the left hand.

3:37 remains in the fourth.

KD again! back to back possessions and back to back pull up jumpers for Durant! The lead is back to 10.

KD off the dribble hits the mid range jumper! He's got 21.

4:20 to go in the fourth.

Mobley with a strong finish to cut the lead to four points!

Claxton set up Browns dunk on the play before, and now it's Brown returning the favour setting up Claxton with the alley oop.

Levert with the left hand answering the Browon dunk

Markkanen with a huge bucket to keep the BKN lead at single digits.

Brown with another strong finish. This guy does all the little things for the Nets, and can score the rock as well.

KD with a momentum breaking three ball in the corner! He isn't having his best game on the offensive side of the ball, but when the Nets need a bucket they dial it up for Durant. He's got 19 on the night.

Garland is in takeover mode! And the rims in the BarclaysCenter are being very friendly to him. He's got a couple of generous rolls in enemy territory.

KD with another block! That's his third of the game! But Garland hits a three ball to make it a single digit defecit for the first time in a long time.

Dragic hit Garland on a reach in, in a rather sensative area, and upon review the refs rule it a flagrant. Garland hits both FTs and the Cavs get the ball back.

Kyrie misses! Finally! Unlucky number 13 doesn't fall for Irving. He's still got 30 points on the night.

Garland with 20 points after getting the Cavs first bucket of the fourth.

We are headed to the fourth quarter with the Nets up by 12. The Nets are a quarter away from the first round.

KD missed a few shots this quarter, but ends the third with a dunk after skipping around Markkanen. He's got 16 points on the night.

One minute to go in the third quarter

7-0 run for the Cavs and the Nets need a timeout after the Kevin Love three in tranisition. He's got 14 points on the night.

Iriving goes to the bench with 2 minutes in the third quarter to a strong round of applause from the Barclays Center.

Kyrie going to the rack strong and he's now 11/11 with 28 points! How do you leave the guy who hasn't missed all night that open of a land to the bucket?

Kyrie misses the three! But there's a catch. He was fouled and goes to the line and knocks down all three FTs.

Garland with another high degree of difficulty shot. That's 16 for the third year man.

Brown with a power slam off a KD assist. He's approaching a triple double.

Rondo with a step back three and the Cavs are on a 10-2 run. The Nets will be willing to let Rondo beat them by shooting threes, but Steve Nash wants timeout after the 22 point lead has been cut to 14. 5:08 left in the third quarter. 

Drummond in transition after the Brooklyn steal and he's got 9 in the quarter.

Mobley with an and one over Drummond. He's got 11 and 4 rebounds after the made FT.

Garland going back to the rack and he should have the ball in his hands on every Cavs possession.

The Nets have their bigges lead of the night after Brown drains a three and puts Brooklyn up 22.

Kyrie is still perfect after drilling another three off the offensive rebound by Brown. 23 points for KAI who is now 10/10 from the field. How many more shots before he misses? The way he's shooting he could sink one from the parking lot.

Back to Drummond for back-to-back dunks. We talked about him maybe having a big night. KD and Irving still have the spotlight but Drummond has had his fair share of highlights. The Brooklyn big man has 12

Drummond with the alley oop. Brooklyn has had some tough looks that have dropped, but they are getting a lot of easy finishes around the rim. Cleveland has to pull out some of that once top ranked defense to get back into this game.

The second half is underway from the Barclays Center. Durant goes right back to work taking the opening basket to the rim and finishing.

The buzzer beater for Irving

The Brooklyn Nets started their postseason campaign with a fantastic shooting display in the first half. They were lead by Kyrie Irving who had a perfect opening 24 minutes.

After the first quarter the Nets were up 40-20 and shooting 71% from the field. While Kevin Durant didn't take a shot until five minutes into the game, Kyrie got going quickly.

Brooklyn's shifty super star ended the first half with a fall away jumper to go into the break with 20 points on 9/9 shooting.  Irving and Durant  went a combined 13/14 in the first half, whiile the Nets shot 59% and lead 57-43 at the break.

KD with the block and KD with the dish to Drummond

KD and Kyrie were unstoppable in that first half. Have a look at this shot smothered by defenders.

Kevin Love had a quick 11 points when the Cavs made a run at the start of the second quarter. Since then he has been quiet. Darius Garland has 10 points in the first quarter Cleveland is going to need more from Garland and from their rookie Mobley.

Kyrie is our leading scorer after two quarter with 20 points. KD has 12 points on 4/5 shooting. Between them they are 13/14 fro the field.

Kyrie Irving starts perfect and finishes the first half perfect with a fall away buzzer beater for 20 points on 9 of 9 shooting! We are headed to halftime in Brooklyn!

KD fading to the floor and he's still perfect!

Stevens with an and 1. He converts the three point play with the made FT

Irving with a hand not in his face, but almost down his throat and somehow gets it to drop from the corner.

KD hits both at the line and he's got 12, 6 and 5 with a minute left in the half.

Stevens on the break with the easy lay up and that's where the Cavs are going to get back into this ball game. The Nets are got a great transition team on the defensive end.

The Nets have gone gole with just 8 points all quarter. There are three minutes to go in the half but even after the Mobley jam the Cavs still trail by 13.

KD dropping off Markkanen and he gets punished for it. The big man for Cleveland throws it down for the slam.

Mills with the straight on three ball.

Brooklyn often gets the accolades for their super stars on offense, but when this team is at it's best they play defense like they have been tonight. They can lock teams down and they will look to show that tonight, and the rest of the playoffs.

Markkanen gets the roll for his first bucket of the game.

KD out of the timeout with the jumper outside the lane. He's 4/4 with 10 shot neither he nor Irving have missed yet

Timeout on the floor with 6:43 to go in the second quarter. The Cavs came out looking to close the gap before halftime and have done a decent job so far.

Love strings a three with the shot clock running down after a long offensive rebound. The Cavs vet had 32 in the final game of the season and he's showing he's still got some in the tank. He's got 11 already

Kyrie remains perfect on the night. He's 6 for 6 with 13 points already.

Rondo has been a pest to start this quarter. He's blanketing Irving on the defensive end and just got in the mix on the offensive boards.

Rondo going right to the rack and the Cavs have their vets leading them in the second quarter.

Kevin Love with the first points of the second quarter. Cleveland needs a little spurt out of the quarter change.

Kyrie gets the roll in tranisition.

KD with the D and then the dish

Even Claxton hits one with a foot on the line as the first quarter buzzer sounds! The Nets shot 71% to start the game and lead by 20.

Mills for three!!! Everyone is getting involved for the Nets!

Dragic off the bench and on to the scoreboard to give the Nets a 15 point lead

Kyrie gets the three to roll after KD shows another bit of fantstic defense. Irving pulled up for the deep ball in transition.

Durant's up to 8 points after not getting a shot off in the first five minutes. The Nets have their biggest lead of the night at 10.

Irving finds Durant off the baseline screen. That shot went up in the blink of an eye.

Kyrie has such an amazing way of making the most dificult shots look routine. First the fader from outside the paint and then the finish in transition with defenders breathing down his back. The Nets are off on the right foot. The Cavs still trying to get into this game.

Drummond heads to the bench with 6 points, four rebounds and two fouls after 7 minutes of play.

Garland with the up and under slashing through the lane. The third year man out of Vandy is off to a good start. As I'm typing he goes back to the rim for back-to-back lay ups.

KD with the pin against the board and then the dish to Drummond on the other end! Doing it on both ends of the court! KD will score as much and as often as he wants, but if he's playing defense and dishing the ball like that, the Cavs will be in trouble. Highlight to come!

KD gets his first shot up five minutes into the game and drills the baseline jumper from the corner. He doesn't need much to get hot, and the Cavs know it so they call a time out with the Nets up 6.

Brown again, this time off the dribble slicing through the zone.

Drummond, the former Cavalier has quite the size advantage over any of the Cavs and might have a big day on the boards, but he just picked up his second foul just four minutes in.

Great penetration by Levert to find Mobley wide open underneath.

Brown in the corner for the three ball! He's money from downtown, especailly from the corner. Early lead for the Nets

Garland with the opening bucket for the Cavs, and the third year man is going to have to be big tonight if Cleveland is going to have any chance to advance. That's a lot of pressure to put on the shoulders of a 22 year old.

There's Kyrie Irving getting the scoring started. He's back under his own roof in post season basketball after a long tough road over the course of the season.

Here we go! The first game of the Play-In Tournamnet is underway from Brooklyn!

48 minutes from the playoffs

We are just moments away from tip off from the Barclays Center. The winner of tonight book a ticket to Boston to take on the defending champions.

Brooklyn is in the building, here's the starting five for the opening Play-In game of the tournament.

Will this be the starting five to take the Cavaliers to the first round of the playoffs?

Cavs MVP Garland has to show up big

Darius Garland has played the leading role for the Cavs this year. The third year man is averaging over 21 points a game, while their rookie Evan Mobley is getting 15 points and 8.3 rebounds a game. The Cavs season started to slide south when their big man Jarrett Allen went down with a finger injury in early March. Cleveland won just 9 of their last 18 games without their center.

KD the Nets MVP

Kevin Durant has been the man for the Nets all year. He went down with a knee injury and missed about a month and a half and that’s when Brooklyn’s struggles really began. They slid into Play-In position and never came out, even when KD came back to join Irving. While the Nets’ record was far from good, Durant has been fantastic when on the court. He finished the season averaging 29.9 points and 7 rebounds a game.

Irving fully available for Nets in postseason

Kyrie Irving has spent much of this season sidelined in one of the stories of the year in the NBA. He was unable to practice or play in Brooklyn for the majority of the year due to a mandate in the state of New York that prohibited unvaccinated people to enter or participate in large public events. The Nets began the season excluding him from the team and team activities, but changed their mind shortly after the start of the new year. Thier star guard made a return at first only for road games. Then the mandate in NY was lifted and the Nets got Irving back under their own roof at the end of March.

How the Play-In works

The Cavs and the Nets will square off in the 7 vs. 8 matchup. The winner of this game moves on to the first round of the playoffs as the seven seed and will play the second seed Boston Celtics. The loser will play the winner of the 9th place Atlanta Hawks vs. the 10th place Charlotte Hornets. Click here for all the details.

The winner on tonight's game gets the seven seed, the loser gets the winner of the Hawks-Hornets game.

Brooklyn knows what the mission is. But the Cavaliers have the same mission coming into tonight. It's a fight for survival at the Barclays center tonight.

Cleveland fall into 8th at end of season

Cleveland ended the season by snapping their three game losing streak against the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks. Before that they had lost three straight to give up possession of seventh place in the East, which means they have to travel to Brooklyn for tonight’s game.

Nets coming into tonight

We got a glimpse of what the Nets are capable of over the last few games of the regular season when they went 4-0 to jump to the seventh spot in the East. One of those wins, their penultimate, was against the very team they will face tonight. They won that matchup 118-107 when Kevin Durant went for 36 points, and 5 rounds .

We are live in Brooklyn!

Hello everyone and welcome to the opening Play-In game of the NBA season. The Nets have to get through the tournament after an underwhelming season that saw plenty of ups but mostly downs as their Big Three got a make over and Kyrie Irving missed much of the season. The Cavaliers were one of the surprises of the season until the All-Star Break. After dropping down the standings in the last two months they have to fight for their playoff lives.

Cavs vs. Nets

It’s Play-In Tournament time! Hello everyone and welcome to Brooklyn where the Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers are a win away from a first round playoff birth. AS English will be with you every step of the way bringing live coverage, stats, scores and analysis of tonight’s game from the Barclays Center.