Nets hope to clinch No. 6 playoff spot will have to wait after Heat win

The Nets are 0-for-1 in scenarios to clinch the Eastern Conference’s No. 6 seed, but this one wasn’t their fault.

They needed the Heat to lose to the 76ers on Thursday, but Miami — currently the No. 7 seed and first team in the conference’s play-in tournament — crushed Philadelphia, 129-101.

That means Brooklyn’s next chance to avoid the play-in tournament and secure a first-round series against the No. 3-seed 76ers will come Friday, when a victory against the Magic or a Miami loss to the Wizards would fulfill the requirements.

The Heat won two of their first three meetings against Washington, but the pair of Southeast Division teams haven’t met since Nov. 25.

After the Nets’ victory on Wednesday, coach Jacque Vaughn joked he “might tune into” the Miami game in Philadelphia, while Joe Harris said that Brooklyn’s focus needed to be on Orlando.

That’s because, as Harris and Vaughn agreed, the Magic — far outside the playoff picture but a stronger team over the past eight games — beat the Nets the last time that the teams met March 26. Brooklyn won the first meeting, 109-102, on Nov. 28.


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Brooklyn Nets forward Joe Harris shoots over Utah Jazz center Udoka Azubuike.
Brooklyn Nets forward Joe Harris shoots over Utah Jazz center Udoka Azubuike.
USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con

“That’s the next game for us, and all I’m thinking about is [the Magic] beat us the last time we played,” Vaughn said. “So that’s the competitive nature. That’s all I’m thinking about. How can we beat these dudes when we face them?”


Nic Claxton continued his strong stretch of games following the All-Star break, making eight of nine shots from the field against the Pistons en route to a 19-point, seven-rebound performance.

Following the weeklong pause in February, Claxton resumed with six consecutive games of single-digit points.


Nic Claxton goes to the basket against Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu.
Nic Claxton goes to the basket against Atlanta Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu.
AP

But he has topped double-digits in 13 of the past 15 games, while playing at least 27:29 in each — and his average court time has increased to 32.2 minutes across that stretch.

“Nic kind of settled in,” Vaughn said Wednesday, “and then really was a force for us at the rim, deterring shots, being able to convert on the other end of the floor, his ability to get to the rim on top of the rim. If we got guys going downhill, and he’s a threat at the rim, that’s pretty tough to guard.”


Cam Thomas has logged double-digit minutes just twice in the Nets’ past 14 games, and any momentum his three consecutive 40-point games in February generated has gradually evaporated.

He didn’t play against the Pistons, and he hasn’t scored more than two points since March 26 — a stretch of five games.

Thomas appeared to be headed toward a breakout following three consecutive 40-point games before the trade deadline, but he has topped 20 points just four times since.

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