NEW YORK (AP) — Darius Garland scored 13 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Cleveland Cavaliers’ comeback from 23 points down for a 108-102 victory Friday night over the New York Knicks, who finished 0-8 against the top two teams in the Eastern Conference.
The Knicks were locked into the No. 3 seed in the East during the game when the Indiana Pacers, resting all five starters, were routed by the Orlando Magic to end their hopes of passing New York.
But no matter where the Knicks finished, they look a step below the teams above them. The top-seeded Cavaliers completed a four-game sweep, just as the No. 2 Boston Celtics did with their overtime victory at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
The Cavaliers played without All-Star Donovan Mitchell and key reserves Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter, but went with their other four starters.
Jalen Brunson scored 27 points for the Knicks, who rested All-Star center Karl-Anthony Towns but otherwise had their regular starting lineup in their third straight loss.
The Knicks made 10 of their first 13 3-point attempts to open a 48-25 lead in the first half, but the Cavaliers outscored them 30-16 in the fourth quarter.
BUCKS 125, PISTONS 119
DETROIT (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo had 32 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds to lead Milwaukee in a win over Detroit, securing the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Antetokounmpo has a career-high 11 triple-doubles this season, surpassing his total from last year by one.
Cade Cunningham scored 36 points on 15-of-21 shooting for the Pistons, who will be seeded sixth in their first postseason appearance since 2019.
Detroit’s Malik Beasley connected on a 3-pointer to make it 122-119 with 17 seconds left, but the Bucks sealed the win in the closely contested game with free throws.
Milwaukee’s Bobby Portis Jr. had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Kevin Porter Jr. scored 16, Brook Lopez had 15 points and seven rebounds and Kyle Kuzma added 10 points.
Beasley scored 21 points, Jalen Duren had 11 points and 16 rebounds, Tobias Harris scored 17, Dennis Schroder had 12 points and Ausar Thompson chipped in with 11 points.
CELTICS 130, HORNETS 94
BOSTON (AP) — Payton Pritchard scored 22 points, Sam Hauser had 20 and Boston beat Charlotte for its 60th victory of the season.
The teams will meet again in Boston on Sunday.
Derrick White added 19 points, Jayson Tatum had 16 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, and Al Horford had 13 points with 11 rebounds for the Celtics (60-21). Boston coach Joe Mazzulla rested his starters in the final quarter.
Celtics star Jaylen Brown was out with a sore right knee that’s hampered him the past month, making him ineligible for postseason awards because he didn’t reach the league’s threshold for games played.
Seth Curry led the Hornets with 17 points and hit his 82nd 3-pointer, which qualifies him for the NBA’s percentage lead. He went 5 of 7 on 3s and is at 45.6%.
MAGIC 129, PACERS 115
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Trevelin Queen scored a career-high 25 points and Anthony Black added 21 points, six rebounds and seven assists to help Orlando pull away from Indiana in a battle of backups Friday night.
Queen made five 3-pointers for the Magic, who won their fifth straight despite benching four starters after locking up a spot in the play-in tournament. Guard Cory Joseph, the other starter, only played 6 minutes, 16 seconds.
All five of Indiana’s starters also sat out one day after securing home-court advantage in its first playoff series since 2014. Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 20 points and eight rebounds. Johnny Furphy had 17 ...
