The Miami Heat on Thursday sealed top seeding in the Eastern Conference playoffs as the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers suffered defeats on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks and Toronto Raptors.
The Celtics were outgunned 127-121 by the Bucks in Milwaukee, while the Raptors edged out Philadelphia 119-114 in Toronto.
The combined results left Miami with an unassailable lead at the top of the Eastern Conference at 52-28 with two regular-season games remaining.
Photo: Benny Sieu-USA Today
Milwaukee’s victory over Boston leaves the Bucks in pole position to claim the second seed in the East. Milwaukee are 50-30 with games against the lowly Detroit Pistons yesterday, before a road game in Cleveland tomorrow.
Boston are 50-31 with just a final regular-season road game tomorrow against the Memphis Grizzlies.
The Celtics looked to have clawed their way back into a winning position at the Bucks’ Fiserv Forum after trailing by 13 points near the end of the first half, taking a five-point lead at 114-109 midway through the fourth quarter, but after Marcus Smart’s driving layup put Boston ahead at 121-118 with just over two minutes remaining, momentum swung back to Milwaukee.
A three-pointer by Bobby Portis leveled the scores and then Giannis Antetokounmpo’s free throw put the Bucks ahead at 122-121.
A Jrue Holiday layup made it 124-121 to Milwaukee and then a wide-open missed layup by Boston’s Daniel Theis allowed Antetokounmpo to add another free throw for a 125-121 lead.
A George Hill steal and layup sealed the Celtics’ fate at 127-121.
Antetokounmpo and Holiday led the Bucks scorers with 29 point each, while Khris Middleton added 22 points.
Smart led the Boston scorers with 29 points.
“It was a tight game, but the guys found a way to win another close game, so some positives from that,” Milwaukee coach Mike Budenholzer said.
In Toronto, Pascal Siakam’s 37-point triple-double sparked the Raptors to victory over the Sixers.
Siakam finished with 37 points, 11 rebounds and 12 assists in the Raptors win, while Gary Trent Jr added 30.
Joel Embiid led the Sixers’ scoring with 30 points and 10 rebounds, while Tyrese Maxey chipped in with 22 points.
“Offensively we lost our rhythm, we lost our pace,” Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said. “That’s happened about three times now. We’ve got to keep our pace going. A frustrating loss.”
In the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets wrapped up the last automatic playoff place with a 122-109 win over Memphis.
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Nikola Jokic led the Nuggets with 35 points, 16 rebounds and six assists.
The victory ended the Minnesota Timberwolves’ faint hopes of sneaking into the automatic playoff spots.
The Timberwolves had kept their hopes alive briefly with a 127-121 victory over the Antonio Spurs, led by a career-high 49 points from Anthony Edwards.
Elsewhere, the Warriors defeated the Lakers 128-112, the Hornets stung the Magic 128-101 and the Pelicans thrashed the Trail Blazers 127-94.
Additional reporting by staff writer
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to