On Tuesday night, March 21, the Brooklyn Nets hosted the Cleveland Cavaliers and ended the night with a tough loss for Brooklyn with a final score of 115-109.  Cleveland’s star, Donovan Mitchell, shows that he is playoff ready and had the best performance for Cleveland.

 In the beginning of the game, the Brooklyn Nets started off on the right foot and took a big push to start the 1st  quarter. The Nets were able to have the lead in the first quarter, but going into the 2nd quarter, the Cavs gained a 10-2 lead. The Nets weren’t able to slow the Cavs down and went into halftime 55-61, with the Cavs up front. To start the 3rd quarter, the Cavaliers were able to make a big push and ended the quarter 94-78. Going into the 4th quarter, the Nets weren’t able to regain their lead. The Cavs had a 16 point lead. Although the Nets were able to outscore the Cavaliers in the 4th quarter, the Nets weren’t able to recover from the double digit lead that the Cavs had. 

Due to the loss against the Cavs,  the Nets are a half game away from being 7th place in the eastern conference. The Brooklyn Nets are currently sitting in 6th place with a record of 39-33. The Cavaliers are currently in 4th place in the eastern conference with a 46-28 record.

Donovan Mitchell dropped 31 points, shooting with a 45.5 FG% and made five 3-pointers. Cavaliers starting center, Jarret Allen, had 12 points with a 45.5 FG% and 14 rebounds. For Brooklyn, Spencer Dinwiddie had the best performance for the Nets. Dinwiddie had 19 points shooting 40% from the field goal and 11 assists. Day’Ron Sharpe also had an amazing performance for the Nets, dropping 20 points with 66.7% from the field goal and 11 rebounds on top of that.  

The Nets finished the night 41/92 in the FG with a 44.6 FG%. They also had 27.3% behind the 3 point line and only made 9/33 3-pointers. Similarly, the Cavaliers finished the night 42/83 in the FG with a 50.6 FG%. The Cavaliers made 14/29 3-pointers and also shot 48.3% behind the 3-point line.  

The Nets have now lost 4 games in a row. A much needed win from the Nets would have claimed their spot for the number 6 seed in the eastern conference. Unfortunately, the Nets had no answer to Cleveland’s all star player, Donovan Mitchell, causing them to lose the game and be half a game away from being 7th place. There are 10 more games for the Nets before they enter the playoffs. The Nets will have a rematch against the Cavs on March 23. Brooklyn needs this next win in order to avoid the play-in tournament.