LOS ANGELES — Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 41 points and the visiting Milwaukee Bucks earned their first playoff series victory in 18 seasons by completing a four-game sweep of the Detroit Pistons with a 127-104 win on Monday.
The All-Star forward added nine rebounds, three assists and four blocks for the top-seeded Bucks, who will play fourth-seeded Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers in their first-round series.
Milwaukee had lost in the first round during its past eight playoff appearances.
Khris Middleton had 18 points and Eric Bledsoe contributed 16 points and five assists for the Bucks. Nikola Mirotic tossed in 12 points off the bench. Sterling Brown added nine points, 13 rebounds and six assists for Milwaukee, which also swept the Pistons during the four-game regular-season series.
Milwaukee shot 41 free throws, hitting 31, compared to Detroit’s 9-of-12 finish at the line.
The eighth-seeded Pistons were swept in the opening round of the playoffs for the third time since 2009. They lost their 14th consecutive postseason game, an NBA record. They haven’t won a playoff game since the 2007-08 season.
Reggie Jackson led Detroit with 26 points and seven assists. Blake Griffin had 22 points, five rebounds and six assists before fouling out. Andre Drummond chipped in 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Jackson carried the Pistons’ offense in the first half, pouring in 20 points as Detroit grabbed a 62-56 halftime advantage.
Griffin made a 3-pointer early in the third to give the Pistons a 71-62 lead, but Griffin and Drummond soon picked up their fourth fouls.
Middleton hit three free throws when Bruce Brown committed his fifth foul, tying the score at 73-all.
Griffin hit a pair of 3s in a 29-second span to put Detroit back in front 79-75 with 5:13 left in the quarter.
Pat Connaughton’s steal and dunk with 4:21 remaining in the quarter allowed Milwaukee to regain the lead, 83-82. Antetokounmpo attempted six free throws in a 1:39 span and made five, stretching the Bucks’ advantage to 91-84.
A Bledsoe layup in the final minute of the quarter made it 95-85 after three.
The Bucks also scored the first five points of the fourth quarter with Antetokounmpo resting, extending their advantage to 15 points.
MITCHELL POWERS JAZZ TO GAME 4 WIN OVER ROCKETS
Donovan Mitchell scored 19 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to propel the Utah Jazz to a 107-91 victory over the Houston Rockets on Monday night at Salt Lake City.
Jae Crowder added 23 points as fifth-seeded Utah staved off elimination in Game 4 with its first win in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series. Ricky Rubio had 18 points and 11 assists, Derrick Favors recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds and Royce O’Neale added 11 points and 11 rebounds.
James Harden scored 30 points for the fourth-seeded Rockets, who will again try to wrap up the series in Wednesday’s Game 5 in Houston.
Chris Paul added 23 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and five steals for the Rockets. Eric Gordon scored 16 points and PJ Tucker added 13.
Utah outscored Houston 31-12 in the fourth quarter.
The Jazz held a 52-35 rebounding edge and connected on 43 percent of their field-goal attempts, including 11 of 35 from behind the arc.
Houston shot 35.4% from the field, including 17 of 46 from 3-point range.
Mitchell exploded for 13 points during a 15-1 run to start the fourth quarter as Utah opened up a 91-80 lead. Mitchell buried three 3-pointers during the run, including back-to-back long-range shots that had Houston coach Mike D’Antoni frantically signaling for a timeout.
The Rockets moved within 95-86 on Paul’s dunk with 4:43 remaining. Mitchell answered with an acrobatic one-handed slam dunk off a lob from O’Neale, and he added a pull-up jumper to make it 99-86 with 3:41 left.
Houston was unable to make a late-game charge.
Harden scored 12 points in the third quarter as Houston turned a six-point halftime deficit into a 79-76 lead.
Harden’s 3-pointer gave Houston a 72-67 lead with 2:52 left before O’Neale and Georges Niang buried 3-pointers to give Utah a one-point edge.
Austin Rivers drained a 3-pointer to put the Rockets back on top with 1:32 left and Paul later connected on a layup with 0.7 second left to account for the three-point lead entering the final stanza.
Crowder scored 18 first-half points and Rubio added 15 as Utah led 53-47 at the break. — Reuters
