TERRY TAYLOR

Irving and the Brooklyn Nets held off the Indiana Pacers 134-126 on Sunday, and will play host to the first play-in game of this year’s tournament when they face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. That matchup wasn’t set until Sunday, nor was the other Eastern Conference play-in matchup: No. The winner of that game will play the Nets-Cavaliers loser on Friday to determine who’ll face No. It’ll mark the fewest number of players in NBA history to have appeared in every game for a full regular season. There were 11 players who appeared in all 72 games last season, which was shortened because of the pandemic.

It lasted 174 days, required the usage of more players than any season in history primarily because of the ongoing challenge of playing through a pandemic, and saw playoff-positioning chases go all the way down to the final moments.

Kyrie Irving scored 35 points, Kevin Durant had 20 points, a career-high 16 assists and 10 rebounds, and the Brooklyn Nets locked up seventh place in the Eastern Conference with a 134-126 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Malcolm Brogdon had 31 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as the Indiana Pacers overcame a 15-point deficit in the fourth quarter and beat the Orlando Magic in overtime 122-114.

Gary Harris scored 22 points and Wendell Carter Jr. had 19 points and 18 rebounds to rally the Orlando Magic past the Indiana Pacers 119-118.