WILL’, NO WIN: Deron Williams dribbles past the Raptors’ Kyle Lowry during the Nets’ 93-87 loss yesterday that locked Brooklyn into the fourth seed in the NBA’s Eastern Conference playoffs — and a possible second-round meeting with the defending champion Heat. (
)
TORONTO — The Nets now know their fate.
With their 93-87 loss to the Raptors, the Nets officially eliminated themselves from a chance to move up to the third seed in the Eastern Conference, and locked themselves into the fourth seed.
That means when the Nets begin their first playoff series in Brooklyn this weekend, they’ll square off against either the Hawks or Bulls. It also means the Nets are likely to rest several of their key players when they return home to face the Wizards tonight.
“We’ve just got to figure out [what we’re going to do],” interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “There are some people we don’t want to play in a back-to-back, some people we don’t want to play both games and we certainly don’t want to play them big minutes.
“Now, at least, there’s some finality. We don’t know if we’re going to play Chicago or Atlanta, but there’s finality for the fourth seed, so that’s a good thing going forward.”
The Hawks lead the Bulls by one game for the fifth seed, with each team having two games left. If they end up tied, Chicago holds the tiebreaker with a 2-1 mark against Atlanta this season.
The Nets (47-33) had hoped to continue to put pressure on the Pacers, who lost to the Knicks yesterday, and maintain their hope of avoiding a potential matchup with the defending champion Heat until the Eastern Conference Finals.
But a dismal performance from the Nets in the first half, when they shot 34.1 percent from the field, including 3-for-15 from 3-point range, forced them into a 51-32 halftime break they were unable to climb out of.
Deron Williams did his best to get the Nets back in the game, scoring 22 of his 30 points after halftime — including 15 in the third quarter.
“My confidence is good, and I’m just trying to be aggressive and gain some momentum for the playoffs,” Williams said.
His heroics could only carry the Nets so far, however. After the Nets clawed back to within two on a free throw by Andray Blatche with 4:42 remaining, the Raptors immediately responded with a 6-0 run to put the game back out of reach and earn their fifth win in their last six games. That includes back-to-back wins over the playoff-bound Bulls on Tuesday and Friday.
“It definitely was a good show of heart [to get back in the game],” said Brook Lopez, who had 16 points — 14 in the second half. “But we dug ourselves in a hole, and that was on us.”
With the loss, the Nets’ final two games of the season — tonight against the Wizards and Wednesday against the Pistons, both in Brooklyn — became irrelevant.
The only question now is who among the team’s key players will play in each game, and how much time they’ll get. Gerald Wallace, who sat out for the second straight game with a lower left leg contusion he suffered in Wednesday’s win in Boston, will almost certainly be out again, and Keith Bogans, who has been dealing with a tight lower back, could take a seat, as well.
As for everyone else, Carlesimo said it was a discussion that would include the players and athletic trainer Tim Walsh, something both Williams and Joe Johnson agreed with.
“We’ll see, man. Obviously I’ve got to do what’s best for myself and my team, as far as getting healthy, and getting ready for the postseason,” said Johnson, who has been dealing with a sore left heel and a right quad contusion in recent weeks. “I’ll talk to our trainers and the coaches tomorrow, and we’ll go from there.”