Here are the teams to have clinched their seeds: Beyond that, everything is still up for grabs including the scoring title! Still, the Sixers havent shown they can go to the heights the Bucks and Celtics have. vibes) method gave theNetsthe second-best chance at winning it all this season, while theSunsin the middle of a downturncame in at ninth. The 76ers currently sit in fourth with an identical 49-30 record as the Bucks, who own the tiebreaker over Philly. On the last back-to-back the Bucks sat four starters in a lopsided loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on April 1 and the Pistons have won three of their last four behind No. Miss those and we're potentially talking about a. 2 seed in the West, and the 76ers have a winnable clash with Detroit. The Nets potentially ending up at No. Needless to say, the NBA landscape is looking a little different in the final quarter of the season, with the dust almost entirely settled roster wise post-trade deadline and All-Star break. If they lose that 7-8 game, they would face the winner of the 9-10 game with the winner of that game securing the No. After an 11-game win streak earlier this year, Memphis is only 510 since Jan. 18. But Grayson is doing his best. So how might they fix the disparity in Game 7? The Nuggets have a comfortable lead atop the Western Conference and appear poised to break through with their two-man core of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. Cleveland Cavaliers. "We want to compete. After scoring 12 points in 16 minutes during his C's debut on Fridayand then 10 points versus the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, the veteran forward racked up 10 points over the first five minutes of Tuesday's matchup. Early in the frame, as the Celtics were threatening to pull away, the Bucks knocked down three 3-pointers in a two-minute span to stay attached. Dallas Mavericks. Nisan 30, 2022; 9 dots puzzle 4 straight lines; coin dozer: haunted ghosts; zeal stabilizers plate mount; Preview capsule for the Boston-Milwaukee Eastern Conference semifinal ser To catch that number, Giannis would only need to average 37.4 over his final two. CBS Sports is a registered trademark of CBS Broadcasting Inc. Commissioner.com is a registered trademark of CBS Interactive Inc. site: media | arena: nba | pageType: stories | But the entertainment value of that is negligible, and the threat of injury to talented thoroughbred-like players is borderline negligent. Hes shooting 36%, including 5-of-20 on 3-pointers, and while Milwaukee has been outscored by 27 over the first six games, that number has been 43 when Allens on the court. Boston then inched a half-game ahead of the. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference. And it messed with their play. He's also hitting 48.8 percent from beyond the arc during that span. But with Kevin Durant healthy and Kyrie Irving just cleared to play in home games, they are not a typical first round matchup for one of the top teams in the conference. Connaughton made two free throws, but the Celtics were only down by three and still had an opportunity to tie things up. Bos has one game left at Memphis; Philly plays Ind/Det. After spending the final two weeks of February (including the All-Star break) away from home, the Celtics return to Boston for a fun . Milwaukee and Boston are tied 2-2 for their season series, they're both division winners, and if this ends up as a tie, it will mean they have identical 33-19 conference records, too. Bucks (51-31) The Celtics claim the 2-seed via their tiebreaker (which, in this scenario, is record against Eastern Conference playoff opponents). After practice on Tuesday, head coach Ime Udoka said, were a basketball team, not a track team. Celtics lose, Bucks go 0-2, Sixers go 2-0 2. The Sixers have three games against teams over .500 (Charlotte, Cleveland and Toronto) and four games against teams not only under .500 but all under .400 as they face Detroit and Indiana twice. On Tuesday, we laid out how the Boston Celtics' Eastern Conference competitors could do them a solid in their quest for an ideal NBA playoff draw. Middleton then hit consecutive threes and Brown went to the bench with four fouls with about five minutes left, and things looked up for Milwaukee until Smart and Theis went off for 13 straight Boston points to give the Celtics a 96-95 lead with 2:12 left. If the Bucks win their final two games (at Detroit and at Cleveland), they'll be the No. Boston forced overtime with a high-arcing 3-pointer from Sam Hauser. If a team settles for the No. His numbers in the series already were ridiculous, and they got dialed up in Game 6 when he became only the third player in NBA playoff history to score at least 40 pounds, grab 20 rebounds and pass for five or more assists. Terms at draftkings.com/sportsbook. Milwaukee Bucks vs. Play-In No. The Celtics' elite defense has stifled the Bucks all series, and was doing so once again in the fourth quarter -- at least on the initial shot. We felt they beat us on winning plays, hustle plays, 50/50 balls. Frankly the deck seemed stacked too high against Tatum and his team, particularly given Bostons meltdown in the closing minutes of Game 5. The Bucks had a 13-point lead at one point and then trailed most of the fourth quarter, and a dramatic final few minutes were set up by the fact the Celtics ran out of the gates in the fourth quarter with seven straight points to take a 104-102 lead with 10:24 left in the game. Here are the remaining schedules for the Raptors, Nets and Hawks, who are battling Brooklyn for the No. Well get guys some ice and shower and recovery and as a staff and a sports performance staff well visit about it and decide what we want to do given tomorrow nights game and a early game on Sunday.. 6-keys: media/spln/nba/reg/free/stories, By pressing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the. He shot 3-of-6 from beyond the arc Tuesday and has hit nine of his last 16 3-pointers. 3 or No. Griffin has been so good from 3-point range recently that the Bucks had to respect him on the perimeter, and he used that to his advantage on this drive to the hoop during the first quarter. Budenholzer said there is no minutes restriction on Hill. ET (ABC). The problem is experience. 6. The C's scored the first five points of overtime to take a 121-116 lead, but the Bucks finished the period on a 15-4 run to escape with a 131-125 victory. 7 could also have some impact on the Bucks-Celtics-Sixers logjam detailed at the top. He went 14-of-15 from the foul line, they went 2-of-3. Kawhi Leonard is playing more and more like the player who was dominant in both the 2019 and 2021 playoffs, the latter of which had solid title potential until he got hurt. The Fiserv Forum crowd, nervous and quiet for much of the middle two quarters, was alive. Brooklyn controls its own destiny to pass No. MILWAUKEE Five takeaways from the Boston Celtics 108-95 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 6 Friday at Fiserv Forum that evened their Eastern Conference semifinal series, 3-3, and force Game 7 on Sunday afternoon in Boston (3:30 ET, ABC). Then he pulled up for a 3. Good old Game 7, Antetokounmpo said. Here's a look at the updated East standings as of Wednesday morning: In an ideal world, Boston should want to face a team like Chicago or Cleveland instead of the streaking Raptors or Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and the dangerous Nets. He also had 11 assists and 10 rebounds. The depth is shaky. The Bucks and Sixers would finish with the same superior record to the Celtics, but the Bucks own the tiebreaker. Of course, you don't make a double-digit comeback in the fourth quarter without some luck. Los Angeles Clippers. Giannis Antetokounmpo joins Shaquille ONeal and Wilt Chamberlain as the only players to do this in a playoff game: 40 PTS 20 REB 5 AST pic.twitter.com/4BeNV8yzU6. Historically, thats been a near-impossible task when all three are healthy. 9:25 pm ET, at Muscala was acquired by the Celtics at the trade deadline last Thursday and he's already made a strong impact in his first three games. wow, horford with a massive put back slam to push the celtics' lead to six. Oh, there probably are some old-school coaches somewhere watching games like this one and reveling in the site of strong, thoroughly fit athletes falling backwards again, and again, and again, in search of drawing offensive fouls. Add to that the tendency for coaches to use their challenges on such plays and we end up with players crashing to the floor and games grinding to a halt to see if somebody truly went statue in time to thwart a highlight or poster play. Bucks rally late in Antetokounmpo's return for 117-113 win Bloodied. Would we expect anything different? CelticsStrong Celtics Basketball Game . That is, if the Celtics even want the No. Remaining games: The Knicks and Celtics meet in the season finale May 16 at Madison Square Garden. Here are three key takeaways from the game: The Bucks should have lost on Wednesday night, and 99 times out of 100 they would have considering the circumstances. For Denver to pass the Jazz, it needs to win its final game (vs. Lakers ) and have the Jazz lose their final two (vs. Phoenix and at Portland). The Bucks are 33-18and Boston is 33-19at the moment. If the Celtics finish with the No. Ime Udoka on Celtics confidence: Were a basketball team, not a track team. 2 seed by way of the fourth tiebreaker if it beats Memphis and Milwaukee splits its final two. In terms of strength of schedule, Milwaukee faces the second-toughest schedule of the four teams in the race as their remaining opponents have a .522 win percentage. 9:30 pm ET, at With 14.2 seconds remaining, Giannis went to the line with the Bucks trailing by two. All Rights Reserved. In earning their 50th win of the season Wednesday, the Celtics took a half-game lead over the Bucks for second place in the East. With the win, Milwaukee has an opportunity to close out Boston at Fiserv Forum on Friday night in Game 6 as they look to defend their NBA championship from this past season. Entering play on Friday, the Warriors lead the Mavericks by one game. Much has changed since we last ranked NBA title contenders headed into the new year. Of course, there is another question that looms over this race in particular and its about a team that currently sits in eighth place in the conference and will likely need to go through the Play-In Tournament to secure its playoff spot the Brooklyn Nets. Muscala also put the ball on the floor and threw down a dunk early in the third quarter. The . Milwaukee Bucks. 3 seed would be pretty important to each of these teams, as it would mean landing on the opposite side of the bracket from Phoenix, which would delay a potential matchup with the No. Bembry suffered a season-ending knee injury in Golden State on March 12 and had surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and medial collateral ligament on March 23. Jrue Holiday led all players with 40 points and hit some massive 3-point shots late in the game, including one that gave Milwaukee a 127-125 lead with 25 seconds remaining in OT. Those three teams are lined up to be the Nos. The Toronto Raptors haven't left themselves any wiggle room. I had a partial tear in the T6, T7 spine, at the top. the tiebreaker goes to Giannis Antetokounmpo. Instead, the Bucks were able to hang around. The NBA's Noches ne B A celebration starts in March, where teams will commemorate fans and players across Latin American and U.S. Hispanic communities. The Celtics 18-point lead had shrunk to six when Tatum subbed in with 9:37 left. Even the situation last year, I think a lot of people questioned about what we were going to do and how we were going to handle the situation. Boston's regulars all played big minutes in Chicago on Wednesday night, with Jaylen Brown playing 35 minutes and Jayson Tatum and Al Horford each logging 30 minutes. You could make a case, however, that he isn't even the best defensive guard in this series. The 13-time All-Star, who was dealt to Phoenix on Feb. 9, has not played in a game since Jan. 8 when he was with the Nets. The Milwaukee Bucks woke up Wednesday in a three-way tie for second in the Eastern Conference standings, knotted at 49-30 with Boston and Philadelphia. 7 seed. 10:23 pm ET, at After the Bucks went on a huge run between the third and fourth quarter to erase a 12-point deficit and lead 99-97 with 8:48 remaining in regulation, White scored back-to-back baskets to put Boston back ahead 101-99. The Bucks had only Jrue Holiday, with 17 points on 17 shots, and Pat Connaughton (14), helping Antetokounmpo with the scoring. The other seven rotation Bucks who played combined for only 51 points to his 44. The Sixers are in an interesting spot following Tuesday nights loss to the Bucks. 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