Butler, Heat top Bucks
Jimmy Butler scored 30 points before leaving with back soreness following a hard fall, and the eighth-seeded Miami Heat beat the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, 12199, on Saturday night for a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Duncan Robinson scored 20 points on his 29th birthday for Miami, while Kyle Lowry scored 15 for the Heat.
The Bucks were without Giannis Antetokounmpo for the second consecutive game because of a bruised lower back. Khris Middleton scored 23 points, Jrue Holiday added 19, and Grayson Allen scored 14 for Milwaukee.
Butler got hurt midway through the third quarter after trying a shot near the rim and landing on his back.
Still, it was a somber ending for Miami, first with Butler and then with Victor Oladipo leaving late in the fourth quarter after apparently hurting his left knee.
Sixers sweep away Nets
Tobias Harris had 25 points and 12 rebounds, and the visiting 76ers beat the Brooklyn Nets, 96-88, to complete a sweep and become the first team to reach the second round of the playoffs.
They did it without Joel Embiid, who couldn’t play because of a sprained right knee.
James Harden added 17 points, 11 assists, and 8 rebounds for the third-seeded 76ers, who will wait for the winner of the series between the Celtics and Hawks.
Tyrese Maxey finished with 16 points and Paul Reed added 10 points and 15 rebounds after replacing Embiid in the starting lineup.
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 20 points and Nic Claxton had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Nets, who were swept for the second straight year and have lost 10 straight postseason games. They went 0-8 this season against the 76ers.
Durant, Booker power Suns
Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Devin Booker added 30, and the visiting Suns defeated the Clippers, 112-100, to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the first-round playoff series. Game 5 is Tuesday in Phoenix.
The Clippers again made a strong run with Kawhi Leonard watching from the bench with a sprained right knee. They’re also without Paul George, who hasn't played since March 21 because of the same injury.
Russell Westbrook carried the Clippers in the fourth quarter. He had 14 points, including 9 in a row when they twice pulled within 2 points. Westbrook finished with a game-high 37 points. Norman Powell added 14 points and Terance Mann had 13 off the bench. But as the fourth wound down, the Clippers ran out of gas.
Chris Paul, the 37-year-old former Clipper, had 12 points in the fourth, hitting big jumpers from all over the court each time Los Angeles threatened.
Paul finished with 19 points and nine assists. Booker had nine rebounds and seven assists. Deandre Ayton had 15 points and 13 rebounds.
Brooks ejected from Game 4
Grizzlies agitator Dillon Brooks was ejected from Game 3 of their first-round playoff series in Los Angeles after striking
LeBron James in the groin.
Brooks committed the flagrant foul while guarding James near midcourt just 17 seconds into the second half, and James went down in obvious pain. Officials tossed Brooks after a brief video review.
Brooks and James were matched up in Game 3, and James was largely dominating until Brooks's ejection.
James scored 12 points in the first half while the Lakers went up by 29 points early and eventually built a 53-37 halftime lead.
Brooks led the NBA in technical fouls this season, committing 18. He served two one-game suspensions for his behavior.