• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Playoff-bound Celtics, Bucks square off

Apr 15, 2015 - 2:14 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Two playoff-bound Eastern Conference teams square off on Wednesday when the Boston Celtics visit the Bradley Center to take on the Milwaukee Bucks in the regular-season finale for both.

The C's secured a postseason berth Monday when the Brooklyn Nets lost to the Chicago Bulls. They wrapped up the seventh seed and a date with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the first round with their two-point win over the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday.

The Bucks will be the sixth seed in the East and meet either Chicago or Toronto, depending on the outcome of a pair of games on Wednesday. A win on Wednesday would give the Bucks a .500 or better season for the first time since the 2009-10 campaign. Milwaukee had the worst record in the NBA last season.

Boston continued its sensational second-half run in its 95-93 win over the Atlantic Division champs on Tuesday.

Jae Crowder's go-ahead jumper with 0.8 seconds remaining lifted the Celtics to victory.

Kyle Lowry tied the score for Toronto at 93-93 with 10.2 seconds left after driving down the lane for a left-handed layup. Evan Turner tried to navigate down the paint at the other end, but his runner was blocked by Terrence Ross and the ball went out of bounds with 3.3 ticks on the clock.

Crowder then came off a screen along the right elbow and knocked down a fall- away jumper with a toe on the 3-point line in the right corner over Tyler Hansbrough and Lowry to put Boston in front.

Lowry's 3-pointer from the left wing at the horn was swatted by Turner.

Crowder was part of the deal that sent All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo to the Dallas Mavericks in December. Boston was a season-worst 14 games under .500 on Feb. 2, but has gone 23-12 since.

Turner finished with 14 points, nine assists and seven rebounds, Avery Bradley netted 14 points and Brandon Bass added 13 points and nine rebounds for the Celtics, who now prepare for LeBron and company.

"To have a chance to compete against the very best in the league is a great opportunity," Celtics coach Brad Stevens said.

The Bucks have won three in a row and try to continue their momentum Wednesday. When they toppled the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday, they secured a playoff spot, then Michael Carter-Williams secured some revenge.

The reigning Rookie of the Year scored 30 points in just three quarters to lead Milwaukee to a 107-97 win over the Philadelphia 76ers, the team that traded him at the deadline.

"I was just trying to be aggressive," Carter-Williams said. "I was able to hit some mid-range shots and my teammates put me in a good position."

O.J. Mayo and Ersan Ilyasova each scored 13 points for Milwaukee, which trailed by as many as 14 in the first half.

The Bucks will try for their first season sweep of the Celtics since the 2005-06 campaign.