Cleveland Cavaliers fall short in Brooklyn, drop to 8th in playoff race

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - Hopefully for the Cleveland Cavaliers, this was not a playoff preview.

In a key matchup for play-in positioning, the Brooklyn Nets pulled away late to defeat the Cavs 118-107 Friday night at Barclays Center.

Kevin Durant led the Nets with 36 points, including 16 in the first quarter as Brooklyn jumped out to a 34-19 lead after one.

Kyrie Irving and Bruce Brown added 18 apiece.

The Nets led 62-54 at halftime but Cleveland rallied to take its first lead, 82-81, on an Isaac Okoro layup with 3:29 left in the 3rd.

Cleveland posted an 11-0 run late in that period and led 88-83 after three periods.

However, Brooklyn outscored the Cavs 35-19 in the fourth to put the game away.

“I thought they did a wonderful job,” Cavs head coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “You give Kyrie and K-D a chance, they make you pay over and over again.”

With the win, Brooklyn jumps to 7th in the play-in seedings and Cleveland drops to 8th.

The 7 and 8 teams square off in next week’s play-in tournament.

Star rookie Evan Mobley returned from a 4-game absence for the Cavs, tallying 17 points and 7 rebounds in 34 minutes.

Darius Garland was Cleveland’s high scorer with 31 points.

Cleveland has one game remaining, Sunday at 3:30 p.m. against MIlwaukee at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

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