The Minnesota Timberwolves and Brooklyn Nets won their play-in qualifiers on Tuesday, making it into the National Basketball Association (NBA) playoffs. Minnesota beat the LA Clippers 109-104 at home and will face the Memphis Grizzlies in the first round of the playoffs. The Nets defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 115-108 and face the Boston Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
The season is not over for the two losers either, they get a second chance at the last two open play-off places. The Clippers play the winner of the game between the New Orleans Pelicans and the San Antonio Spurs of Austria’s star Jakob Pöltl on Wednesday (today) on Friday. The winner of the Atlanta Hawks – Charlotte Hornets duel is waiting for the Cavaliers.
In the Western Conference, the Timberwolves also coped with a weak evening by Karl-Anthony Towns, who only hit three of his eleven shots and was not allowed to continue playing early on with too many fouls. Antony Edwards with 30 points and D’Angelo Russell with 29 carried their team. “This is a special group,” Russell said. “Our group is very resilient. This is something special.”
In the Eastern Conference, Kyrie Irving had a strong evening, hitting his first 12 shots from the game and ending the game with 34 points, three rebounds and 12 assists. After a 22-point lead in the third quarter, the match became exciting again in the last few minutes when the Cavaliers reduced the lead to just five points. “There were ups and downs, we stuck together and showed resilience,” Irving said of the Nets’ season, who started as the title favorite.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks have to fear a failure of Luka Doncic and thus their most important player at the start of the playoffs. The 23-year-old Slovenian was substituted off at the end of the regular season and suffered a strain in his left calf, ESPN reported. It is still unclear whether Doncic will be able to play in the Texans’ first playoff game against the Utah Jazz on Saturday evening (7 p.m.). The Mavericks have yet to release a timetable for Doncic’s return.
Tuesday’s NBA Play-in Round 1 Results:
Eastern Conference: Brooklyn Nets – Cleveland Cavaliers 115:108
Brooklyn im Play-off, Cleveland – Gewinner Atlanta/Charlotte
Western Conference: Minnesota Timberwolves – Los Angeles Clippers 109:104
