INDIANAPOLIS -- Brooklyn Nets coach Kenny Atkinson wouldn't let himself talk about his team possibly making the playoffs. That's understandable, considering the Nets hadn't been to the playoffs since the 2014-15 season.
Atkinson doesn't have to worry about using the word possibly anymore, because the Nets locked up a postseason spot by beating an Indiana Pacers team that had won nine straight against them. Brooklyn prevailed 108-96 on Sunday.
"I'm just glad the way we did it," Atkinson said. "Here against a tough Indiana team, on the road, on a back-to-back, which we struggled with in the past. Just a wonderful way to qualify for the playoffs. Felt like last two games was another level of focus. Another level of being locked in. They wanted it so bad. An extra energy out there."
This hasn't been an easy road back to the playoffs for the Nets. Atkinson and general manager Sean Marks have rebuilt the franchise without the luxury of having top-five picks in the draft or signing a heavyweight free agent. They've done it with smart personnel moves and the development of players such as point guard D'Angelo Russell, who made his first All-Star appearance this season.
Those efforts have paid off for the Nets, as they have gone from winning 20 games in Atkinson's first season in 2016-17 to 28 games last season to winning at least 41 games this season.
"I've been through losing so much in this league and finally get a taste of what the playoffs going to feel like. I'm excited," Russell said.
Atkinson refused to acknowledge the thought of making the playoffs throughout the season. That's understandable, considering the Nets looked more like a lottery team than a playoff team when they started the season 8-18, which included a seven-game losing streak during that stretch. The players started to see the potential when they responded to the losing streak by running off eight straight victories, with two of those coming against the playoff-bound Toronto Raptors and Philadelphia 76ers in December.
It took all the way until a seven-game road trip in March, though, for Atkinson to finally start believing he had a playoff team on his hands, despite Brooklyn going 2-5 during that span.
"Like I told them the old story: No one believed you could do it," Atkinson said. "I think those are the most beautiful moments in sports. Winning a championship, next to that, proving everybody wrong. The predictions. Even their head coach, they even proved me wrong. They're much better than I thought they were going to be. I didn't know that until I got to know that group of guys in there. As the season went on, this was possible."
The Nets wanted to get into the playoffs without relying on the help of other teams. They took the first step by beating the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. Then they knocked off the Pacers by scoring the first nine points of the game; getting 20 points from Russell and 19 points from Joe Harris; and dominating Indiana at its own game by outrebounding the Pacers by 19.
The Nets will finish as the sixth or seventh seed in the East. The loss for the Pacers was their second straight and officially locked them into the fifth seed, from which they'll face the Boston Celtics in the first round.
"It felt better that we didn't need somebody else to lose," Nets forward Jared Dudley said. "We controlled our own destiny, came on a road trip and beat Milwaukee, beat Indiana. It was satisfying."