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Malika AndrewsESPN
MILWAUKEE – After Kenny Atkinson has fulfilled his post-match duties, loosened his tie and boarded the teams' teams for Indianapolis, he plans to take a glass of red wine. The Brooklyn Nets head coach is careful not to win a win over the Milwaukee Bucks, but he does not want success to pass without some people taking it to heart.
"Sometimes you have to celebrate," said Atkinson. "Then I wake up tomorrow morning, do my exercises and I'll be ready for Indiana."
On Saturday afternoon, the Nets earned a 133-128 win over the championship Bucks. Of course, Milwaukee did not have the candidate for the most valuable player title, Giannis Antetokounmpo, because of a left calf injury. But the middle of the Eastern Conference is in a tight race for playoff spots, and the Nets will not make a distinction between victories. The win brings the Brooklyn record to 40-40, and because Brooklyn has the tiebreaker against the 40-40 Orlando Magic, the Nets are ranked sixth in the list of East up to At the Saturday games.
The bottom of the picture of the Eastern playoffs is far from being finalized; On Sunday, the five teams will always compete for a place – the Nets, Magic, Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat and Charlotte Hornets – will play.
"For us, win or go home, literally," said the great Nets reservist, Jared Dudley. "I know we are planning to lose Miami, this and that, but we want to control our own destiny."
That Brooklyn's victory over the Bucks decreases the pressure on the team depends on who you ask. Dudley says yes, while the All-Star goaltender Dr. Angelo Russell maintains that victory must be erased from his memory in less than 24 hours.
"Now it's one game at a time," Russell said. "I'll say it after Indiana too, if you ask me the same question: every game is big, we have to treat it like it's the last one, we can not get comfortable. Is too late. "
| 6-10 | W-L | GB 8th | Remaining schedule |
|---|---|---|---|
| # 6 nets | 40-40 | 0.5 | @IND, vs MIA |
| # 7 Magic | 40-40 | 0.5 | @BOS, @CHA |
| # 8 Pistons | 39-40 | – | vs CHA, vs MEM, @NY |
| — | |||
| # 9 heat | 38-41 | -1.0 | @TOR, vs PHI, @BRK |
| # 10 Hornets | 37-42 | -2.0 | @DET, @CLE, vs ENT |
| Enter April 7 | |||
Several scenarios will guarantee a place in the playoffs of the Nets, but the simplest would be to win their last regular season game at home against the Heat. Brooklyn is 0-2 against the Pacers so far this season and 1-2 against Miami.
Miami is currently in a three-game losing streak and out of playoffs. Heat's recent injuries could help strengthen the Brooklyn case. Josh Richardson, who totals an average of 16.6 points for the Heat, is expected to be absent over the next two weeks due to an injury to his groin.
Pistons, Nets, Heat and Magic are separated by less than two games for the last three Eastern Conference playoffs.
Nets coach Kenny Atkinson and his staff are on the verge of completing their contracts, Brooklyn having gone from the bottom of the league to the fight for a playoff spot in the three seasons with the team. d & # 39; Atkinson.
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It took a collaborative effort from the Nets to overthrow Milwaukee. Eight Brooklyn players scored two digits, with Russell leading with 25 points and 10 assists.
Eric Bledsoe led the Milwaukee attack with 33 points and 11 assists.
The Nets outperformed the Bucks 28-9 on turnovers, Brooklyn's second-highest points this season.
Four Nets scored two numbers on the bench, led by wing Caris LeVert (24) and by Dudley (16). Brooklyn's love-sharing formula is something that Atkinson said he hopes to implement more in the last two playoffs, if the Nets come in.
"I had the revelation that we had to play 10 players," Atkinson said. "I do not promise to do it every game, tonight we decided to broadcast it a bit more, and it worked for us."
The Bucks struggled in the first three quarters, scoring 108 points before the start of the last period. With 2:30 remaining, the Bucks led 128-126, after Milwaukee was trailed by 12 times in the last period.
0:29
Joe Harris confidently drops in a 3-point clutch against the Bucks.
The Bucks have never scored again, selling their last four possessions empty.
When asked if the win over the No. 1 seed of the East gave him some confidence that they were facing Milwaukee in the playoffs, Atkinson quickly responded that "No".
"I just think they're good too," Atkinson said. "We needed [this win]. We needed it in its own little context here, but we know that if we have to play them in the playoffs, it's a monumental task. "
Now, Atkinson will skip the cork and start charting his plan against the Pacers.
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