Cleveland is the best team in the NBA. The Nets came up one endgame run short of being the best team on the floor.
The Nets, who have turned blowing late leads into an art, did it again Tuesday night. They threw away a fourth-quarter cushion and fell 109-104 to the Cavaliers before a sellout crowd of 19,432 at Rocket Arena.
Brooklyn led by 18 points in the third quarter, and eight early in the fourth. But they coughed up a 23-8 Cleveland run to lose the lead and eventually the game.
The Nets (22-43) moved into a tie with idle Toronto for fifth place in the lottery standings, and ½ game ahead of the seventh-place 76ers.
Cleveland, coached by former Nets head coach Kenny Atkinson, improved to 55-10. They won their franchise-record 15th straight game and the division title.
Cam Thomas led the Nets with 27 points, while Cam Johnson — visibly upset after this latest collapse — added 17 and five rebounds.
But the Nets, playing without D’Angelo Russell, went 2-for-9 over the last few minutes.
The Cavaliers didn’t have star guard Donovan Mitchell; but they still had a Big Three of Evan Mobley (21 points), Darius Garland (game-high 30 points) and ex-Net Jarrett Allen (23 points, 13 boards).
That trio proved too much for Brooklyn to handle.
