See Also Page 43
Celtics 107, Lakers 100 In Los Angeles, Isaiah Thomas scored 26 points and Boston clinched a playoff berth while besting Kobe Bryant for the final time with a victory over the Lakers.
Jae Crowder added 22 points for the Celtics, who blew an early 17-point lead and survived a tense fourth quarter in their first game since ending the Golden State Warriors’ NBA-record 54-game home winning streak.
Bryant scored 34 points in his final showdown with the Lakers’ historic rival, putting up the second highest-scoring performance of his farewell season.
Bulls 102, Bucks 98 In Milwaukee, Jimmy Butler scored 25 points on 10-of-11 shooting, Pau Gasol had 16 points and eight rebounds and the Chicago Bulls held off a second-half surge by the Milwaukee Bucks.
Butler had six points and an assist in the final 3:45, when the Bucks had narrowed a 19-point deficit to one at 87-86.
Justin Holiday hit a tough jumper from the corner with 1:15 left and later grabbed a defensive rebound on a missed finger roll by Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo with 43.9 seconds to go.
Pacers 92, Knicks 87 In New York, Paul George returned from an injured ankle to make the tiebreaking jumper with 23.6 seconds left, and the Indiana Pacers beat the New York Knicks to tie for seventh place in the Eastern Conference.
The Pacers blew an 18-point lead in the second half against a Knicks team missing its two best scorers, but recovered to join Detroit at 41-36 and stay two games ahead of ninth-place Chicago.
Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (left), drives by Boston Celtics guard Evan Turner during the first half of an NBA basketball game on April 3,
in Los Angeles. (AP)