PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Giannis Antetokounmpo outdueled fellow MVP candidate Joel Embiid, finishing with 45 points and 13 rebounds and leading Milwaukee to a 128-122 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night as the Bucks clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the top overall seed for the NBA playoffs.
Khris Middleton added 22 points and George Hill had 20 for the Bucks, who locked up home-court advantage with three regular-season games remaining.
Embiid returned from a three-game absence and had 34 points, 13 rebounds, 13 assists and three blocks.
JJ Redick scored 29 points and Mike Scott, starting for injured Jimmy Butler, had 22 points for the 76ers, who are two games in front of Boston in the race for the No. 3 seed in the East with three games left.
Philadelphia played without Butler, who missed for the second time in three games due to back tightness.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — DeMarcus Cousins had 21 points and 10 rebounds, and Golden State rolled Los Angeles in pursuit of the No. 1 seed in the West.
With four regular-season games remaining, the Warriors own the best record in the West (54-24) and have a two-game lead over idle second-place Denver. The defending NBA champions also hold the tiebreaker over the Nuggets in the race for the top seed.
Kevin Durant added 15 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Stephen Curry finished a quiet night with seven points on 3-of-14 shooting and 10 rebounds.
Johnathan Williams led the Lakers with 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds off the bench. JaVale McGee had 13 boards to help the Lakers outrebound Golden State 62-51.
KINGS 117, CAVAVLIERS 104
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — De'Aaron Fox had 16 points and 10 assists, Buddy Hield scored 23 points and Sacramento Kings beat Cleveland.
Marvin Bagley III scored seven of his 15 points in the fourth quarter, and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 15 points and eight rebounds for Sacramento.
Collin Sexton scored 19 points and joined LeBron James and Ron Harper as the only Cavaliers rookies to score 1,300 points. Sexton is the 10th rookie in the NBA to reach the milestone.
Ante Zizic had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Larry Nance Jr. added 11 points and 16 boards for Cleveland. The Cavs (19-60) have lost seven straight.
