NEW YORK — Kyrie Irving scored 42 points and the Brooklyn Nets beat the Houston Rockets 118-105 on Tuesday night to improve their position in the race for play-in seeding.
Irving had 17 points in the fourth quarter. Kevin Durant added 18 points, Bruce Brown had 15 and Cam Thomas 13 for the Nets. Andre Drummond finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
With Cleveland, Atlanta and Charlotte all losing, the Nets climbed into a tie for eighth place in the Eastern Conference, just 1 1/2 games behind the Cavaliers. The No. 7 seed hosts a game to open the tournament.