Milwaukee Bucks vs Boston Celtics Match Player Stats On Apr 12, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Apr 12, 2017

BOSTON -- Gerald Green scored 18 points, and the Boston Celtics emerged with the No. 1 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs after a 112-94 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night at TD Garden.

Jae Crowder and Amir Johnson each had 16 points, Isaiah Thomas finished with 13 points and eight assists, and Al Horford added 12 points for Boston, which meets the eighth-seeded Chicago Bulls in the first round of the playoffs.

The Celtics (53-29) entered the night needing a win or Cleveland loss to lock up the top seed. The Cavaliers, who rested stars LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, were blown out by the Toronto Raptors and finished with the No. 2 seed.

Spencer Hawes and Michael Beasley each had 15 points for Milwaukee (42-40), which also rested most its starters after securing the sixth seed in the East following an Atlanta Hawks victory Tuesday.

Rashad Vaughn had 14 points and Malcolm Brogdon added 11 for the Bucks, who will face the third-seeded Toronto Raptors in the first round of the East playoffs.

It marks the first time the Celtics have finished first in the East since the 2007-08 season, when they won their league-best 17th championship, and the 15th time in franchise history.

The Celtics led 57-56 at halftime but couldn't stretch their lead beyond four in the third, taking an 80-78 advantage into the fourth.

Michael Beasley's fadeaway jumper with 8:12 remaining gave Milwaukee an 88-87 lead. Green's dunk nine seconds later handed Boston the lead for good, and they finished the game on a 23-6 run.

It was the short-handed Bucks who played like a team with the top seed up for grabs early on, taking a 36-25 lead after the first quarter on Mirza Teletovic's buzzer-beating 3-pointer.

Milwaukee led by as many as 12 points and shot 60.9 percent in the period.

Spencer Hawes' finger roll gave the Bucks their biggest lead at 52-39 with 3:54 left in the second quarter, but Boston came alive and closed the half on an 18-4 run.

Thomas was held scoreless until he hit a pair of free throws with 2:17 left in the half. He knocked down back-to-back 3s and added two more free throws to put Boston up one at the break.

NOTES: Milwaukee F Giannis Antetokounmpo (rest), F Khris Middleton (rest), G Matthew Dellavedova (rest) and G/F Tony Snell (rest) did not travel for Wednesday's regular-season finale. F Michael Beasley, F Mirza Teletovic, G Malcolm Brogdon and G Rashad Vaughn started in their place. "An opportunity presented itself to give those guys some rest," said Bucks coach Jason Kidd, whose team locked up the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs after the Atlanta Hawks' win Tuesday. ... Antetokounmpo, 22, is the first player in NBA history to finish in the top 20 in total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks in a single season. ... Celtics G Isaiah Thomas addressed the crowd before tip-off on Fan Appreciation Night. "We want to thank you guys for the amazing support you've given us this season," Thomas said. "We've got a big playoff run (coming) for you guys." Thomas later extended his club record by making a 3-pointer in his 57th consecutive game.