Brooklyn Nets seal crucial NBA playoff spot with win over the Orlando Magic

The Brooklyn Nets are heading to the NBA playoffs as No 6 seed after beating the Orlando Magic 101-84, leaving the Miami Heat facing the Play-In Tournament.

Mikal Bridges shone at the Barclays Center with 22 points, as the new Nets star man proved once again that Brooklyn can do without Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant.

The Nets will face the No 3 seed Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs, starting next weekend. Philadelphia beat the Nets in five games in the opening round of the 2019 postseason shortly before Durant and Irving arrived in Brooklyn.

The Nets (45-36) clinched their fifth straight postseason berth by winning for the sixth time in eight games to surpass last season’s victory total.

Orlando (34-47), which was in contention for a play-in spot over the past month following a 5-20 start, played its second game since being eliminated on Tuesday. The Magic sat rookie Paolo Banchero (back tightness), Wendell Carter Jr. (sore left hip) and Mortiz Wagner (sprained right ankle)

Mikal Bridges shoots on his way to 22 points for the NBA playoff-bound Brooklyn Nets

Nic Claxton (left) and Bridges (right) defend against Admiral Schofield in the first half

Ben Simmons watches on – he is an ex-76er but isn’t fit to play against his old team next week

Bridges shot 7-for-24 from the field and missed 11 of 12 3-point tries for the Nets, who shot 39.3 percent from the floor and 21.4 percent (9 of 42) on 3-point tries. Cam Johnson added 18, Nic Claxton collected 14 points and 15 rebounds, Seth Curry contributed 13 points and Spencer Dinwiddie handed out 14 of Brooklyn’s 27 assists.

Cole Anthony paced the Magic with 14 points. Franz Wagner and Goga Bitadze added 12 apiece for Orlando, which shot 35.6 percent from the floor and 18.4 percent (7 of 38) from beyond the arc.

Brooklyn seized control by outscoring Orlando 31-16 in the second quarter to turn a four-point lead into a 58-39 edge by halftime. The Nets held a 73-49 lead on a basket by Johnson with 5:05 left in the third but were outscored 13-5 the rest of the period and took a 78-62 lead into the fourth.

Orlando was within 85-75 after a 3-pointer by Admiral Schofield with 7:42 left as the Nets went a little over six minutes between baskets before Johnson dunked with 4:41 to go.

The Nets officially clinched their playoff berth during a timeout after Johnson’s dunk when the Washington Wizards finished off a 114-108 win over the Miami Heat.