Nets will face 76ers in playoffs after steamrolling Heat in finale
NBA Sports brooklyn nets carmelo anthony d'angelo russell dwyane wade kenny atkinson LeBron James
Brian Lewis
The Nets dropped the curtain on Dwyane Wade’s career to end the regular season. Now on to Philadelphia for the postseason.
Brooklyn’s 113-94 beating of...
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New York Post
The Nets dropped the curtain on Dwyane Wade’s career to end the regular season. Now on to Philadelphia for the postseason.

Brooklyn’s 113-94 beating of Miami at sold-out Barclays Center on Wednesday night was the final game for Wade. Now the Nets are moving on to play games that count, climbing from the worst team in the entire league to sixth in the East in just two years.

“It’s really surprising. I didn’t think it was going to happen — I think Sean [Marks] would say the same thing — I’d say not ahead of schedule, I’d say way ahead of schedule. I was expecting Year 4 or Year 5, that’s when we’ll start being in the playoff mix. It’s a special, special year, special moment,” said Kenny Atkinson, who saw his Nets do it in Year 3.

“Never envisioned it, not in my wildest dreams. I tell the players that, your coach didn’t believe it until we got deep in the season and it was right there in front of my nose. It’s one of those special years. It’s a great story for a group of guys that exceeded expectations. Besides winning a championship that’s the greatest thing about sports: You can beat the odds if you have a good group that have great chemistry.”

The Nets (42-40) earned their first winning mark since 2014, and a first-round date with the third-seeded 76ers. They’re confident not just about having made the playoffs but of making noise now that they’re there.

“I don’t feel cornered into settling for [just] that. No, I want to make it out of the first round. We’re here now, so let’s keep goals coming and trying to achieve them,” said D’Angelo Russell, who had 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists. He hit four 3-pointers in a 1:22 third-quarter burst that put the Nets up 75-50.

Wade had a triple-double with 25 points, 11 boards and 10 assists. But the Nets sat both DeMarre Carroll and Joe Harris and dug into the bench but still cruised.

Rodions Kurucs had 15 points and nine boards, while little-used Shabazz Napier added 20 points, five assists and five rebounds in rare extended minutes.

The Nets trailed 18-17 after a Justise Winslow tip-in with 4:06 left in the first quarter. But they smothered the Heat with a 13-0 run to take control, Ed Davis and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson combining for eight points and five boards in the spurt.

Napier’s 3 put the Nets ahead 30-18. And with the lead still 32-23 early in the second quarter, a 14-1 run blew it wide open.

The Nets padded it to as much as 29. And when it was over, their focus had already shifted down the Turnpike.

“We knew we were knocking on the door. It feels good to finally get some of those wins and be where we’re at right now,” said Caris LeVert, adding of the Sixers, “They’ve got talented players. We’ve played well against them this year. We’ll watch some film the next couple of days and see where we can attack them.”

They’ve largely outplayed Philadelphia, splitting their four meetings and outscoring them by an average 121 to 117.8. And Sixers GM Elton Brand said Joel Embiid could miss Game 1 of the playoffs.

The Nets have scored 117.2 points per 100 possessions versus Philadelphia, the best any Eastern team has managed against the Sixers. Russell, LeVert and Spencer Dinwiddie (who had 39 points in a Nets win in Philadelphia in December) have penetrated at will against the them.

“We don’t match up well,” said Sixers coach Brett Brown. “[They’re] dangerous. Completely dangerous. They have a bunch of players who can play out of a live ball or a pick-and-roll. And where do I assess where we’re weak? Where do I need the most help? It’s pick-and-roll defense.

“The match up scares you. It’s not something where you feel like we matchup with these guys great. We don’t. So we’d have our hands full.”