ORLANDO, Fla. — After steadily climbing up the Eastern Conference standings since the start of 2014, the Nets have stalled out in fifth place.
The combination of the Nets losing 115-111 to the Magic Wednesday along with results from around the NBA have all but assured the Nets of finishing in fifth place in the East and heading to either Toronto or Chicago to begin the playoffs next weekend.
Because of that, expect the Nets to begin doing more of what they did against the Magic — resting key contributors such as Paul Pierce (right hip pointer) and Shaun Livingston (sprained right big toe) in order to have them be as fresh and healthy as possible for the playoffs.
“As we go along here, guys will be off Friday [back in Brooklyn against the Hawks] for sure, and we’ll go from there,” Nets coach Jason Kidd said.
Even after the loss, the Nets (43-35), who had a three-game losing streak snapped, have gone 33-14 since Jan. 1. But despite their success, they haven’t been able to gain ground on the Raptors and Bulls, who have been equally as hot.
“They’ve been playing good basketball,” said Deron Williams, who had 11 points Wednesday but shot just 3-for-14. “We’ve been trying, but we jumped one spot to the five and couldn’t get over the hump.”
Kevin Garnett’s second game in his return from back spasms was as successful as his first.
Following an impressive 13-minute showing in Philadelphia Saturday, Garnett responded with a quality 16:32 against the Magic, finishing with five points, eight rebounds and six assists and — most importantly — feeling good afterward.
“I’m trying to obviously work back towards something,” he said. “I felt pretty good out there.”
Garnett was done for good after playing a few minutes early in the third quarter, but coach Jason Kidd nearly forgot and motioned for Garnett to check in midway through the fourth, only to realize his mistake and tell Garnett to stay rooted to his seat.
“I have a habit [of going to him],” Kidd said with a smile. “I turned and looked and called his name, and I forgot that he’s been out for awhile.
“He jumped up like he was going to go in, and then I came to my senses.”
After the Nets beat the Heat Tuesday night, LeBron James was asked if the Nets have become the biggest challengers to the Heat in the East.
“Get outta here,” James said with a dismissive laugh. “Next question.”
It wouldn’t be hard to take that as a slight, but when asked about it following Wednesday’s loss, Kevin Garnett — who didn’t play against the Heat Tuesday — said he wasn’t bothered by it, a sentiment echoed across the Nets locker room.
“You have to understand,” Garnett said, “they probably get asked that about the Pacers, they probably get asked that about the Bulls. There’s some things they probably get tired … who knows what LeBron gets asked every night. He probably gets asked some of the most ridiculous questions.
“I don’t take that personal because, when you’re on top, everybody is gunning for you. Everybody is looking to beat you, and you know what? Everybody is looking to beat the Heat. But … regular season is regular season and playoffs is a whole other story.”