Bucks sweep Pistons to advance

LOS ANGELES: The Milwaukee Bucks wiped away 18 years of frustration on Monday by beating the Detroit Pistons 127-104 to complete a four-game sweep of their first round Eastern Conference playoff series.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 41 points as the Bucks reached the second round of the post-season for the first time since the 2000-01 season when they made it all the way to the NBA semi-finals.

Top-seeded Milwaukee cruised through the first three games and after a slow start in game four, they took control late and won by a comfortable 23 points.

Breaking their streak of eight straight playoff exits so quickly means Milwaukee has more time to prepare for their next opponent — the Boston Celtics, who are coming off a sweep of Indiana.

The Bucks matched their regular season dominance over the Pistons, winning all four games. They had met in the post-season four times with the Pistons winning them all.

The Blake Griffin-led Pistons set an NBA record with their 14th consecutive playoff loss, a losing skid that began in 2008.

Milwaukee was also the second team in playoff history to sweep their first round series by at least 15 points in each game, joining the 1980 Celtics.

Elsewhere, Donovan Mitchell scored 19 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter as the Utah Jazz staved off elimination in game four with a 107-91 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Jae Crowder added 23 points, Ricky Rubio tallied 18 points and 11 assists and Derrick Favors finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for Utah, who trail three games to one.

Utah outscored Houston 31-12 in the fourth quarter to set up game five on Wednesday.