Brandon Jennings

■When, where: Thursday, 8 p.m., at TD Garden. ■TV, radio: CSN, WRKO (680). ■Scoring: Brandon Jennings 19.2, Monta Ellis 17.6, Drew Gooden 13.7. ■Rebounds: Ersan Ilyasova 8.80, Gooden 6.5, Luc Mbah a Moute 5.3. ■Assists: Ellis 5.9, Jennings 5.6, Beno Odrih 3.7. ■Head to head: This is the third and final meeting. The Celtics won the first two. ■Miscellany: The Bucks missed out on the playoffs when the Sixers clinched the final Eastern spot Monday.

BOSTON — Paul Pierce scored all 12 of his points in the first half despite missing most of it with a sprained toe and Rajon Rondo had 15 assists as the Boston Celtics closed the regular season with an 87-74 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night. Avery Bradley added 14 points for the Celtics, who were nearly back at full strength in their final tuneup before opening the playoffs at Atlanta on Sunday. Boston used its returning starters sparingly after pulling ahead by as much as 21 in the first half.

Dirk Nowitzki went over 23,000 career points, Vince Carter had his highest-scoring game in Dallas and the Mavericks stretched their winning streak to four games with a 102-76 victory over Milwaukee on Friday night. The defending NBA champion Mavericks (7-5) are finally on a roll after an 0-3 start. Nowitzki became the 23rd NBA player with 23,000 points. He finished with 11 and his 23,008 career points are third among active players behind Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett. Brandon Jennings scored 19 points for the Bucks (4-7)

As much as he wanted to keep playing in his return from a sore lower back, Rajon Rondo knew it was much more prudent to rest on the bench in the second half. He had plenty of company as the Boston Celtics closed the regular season with an 87-74 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night. Rondo finished with 15 assists despite not playing the fourth quarter and Paul Pierce scored all 12 of his points in the first half, even though he missed most of it with a sprained toe. "I wanted to play a little bit more, but it was smart for me to sit in the second half," said Rondo, who...

Brandon Jennings had 21 points, reserve Mike Dunleavy added a season-high 20 on 8-of-10 shooting and the Milwaukee Bucks rolled to a 103-82 victory over the skidding Detroit Pistons on Monday night. Drew Gooden shot 7 of 9 and scored 16 points for Milwaukee, including seven straight early in the third quarter during a decisive 12-2 run to open the second half. Detroit, which has lost five straight and nine of 10, never led in falling to 4-18. Rodney Stuckey led the Pistons with 19 points, and Greg Monroe added 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Ersan Ilyasova had career highs of 29 points and 25 rebounds, and the Milwaukee Bucks snapped a four-game losing streak with a 92-85 victory over New Jersey on Sunday night, spoiling the season debut of Nets center Brook Lopez. Ilyasova's 25 rebounds tied the NBA single-game high this season set Jan. 18 by Orlando's Dwight Howard in an overtime game against San Antonio. The 6-foot-10 forward from Turkey fouled out with 2:01 to play after being the difference maker all night, including a key 3-pointer with 4:56 to play after the Nets cut a 16-point deficit to seven.

Brandon Jennings scored 17 of his 19 points in the third quarter and the Milwaukee Bucks pulled within two games of the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot Monday night with an unsightly 112-98 win over the Washington Wizards. Monta Ellis and Mike Dunleavy scored 17 points apiece, Ersan Ilyasova had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Jennings added seven assists and six rebounds as Milwaukee tries to take advantage of a soft spot in the schedule in its pursuit of the eighth-place New York Knicks.

Danny Granger scored 29 points to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 118-109 on Thursday night and clinch homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. George Hill had 22 points and eight assists and David West added 21 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for the Pacers, who won their seventh straight and 11th of 12. The Pacers have scored at least 100 points in 12 of their last 13 games. Brandon Jennings scored 27 points and former Pacer Mike Dunleavy added 23 for the Bucks.

Derrick Rose scored a season-high 34 points to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 107-100 win over the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night. Rose outdueled Milwaukee counterpart Brandon Jennings, hitting 14 of 24 from the floor and scoring 18 of his points in the second half. Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds and Joakim Noah added 15 points and 16 rebounds as Chicago bounced back from its first home loss of the season against Indiana on Wednesday. Jennings led Milwaukee with 25 points and seven rebounds.

■When, where: Thursday, 8 p.m., at TD Garden. ■TV, radio: CSN, WRKO (680). ■Scoring: Brandon Jennings 19.2, Monta Ellis 17.6, Drew Gooden 13.7. ■Rebounds: Ersan Ilyasova 8.80, Gooden 6.5, Luc Mbah a Moute 5.3. ■Assists: Ellis 5.9, Jennings 5.6, Beno Odrih 3.7. ■Head to head: This is the third and final meeting. The Celtics won the first two. ■Miscellany: The Bucks missed out on the playoffs when the Sixers clinched the final Eastern spot Monday.

Facing a potentially short and hectic transition from the regular season to the playoffs, the Philadelphia 76ers managed to get a win while Doug Collins rested a few of his key players. Evan Turner scored a career-high 29 points and the 76ers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 90-85 in a playoff tune-up Wednesday night. Jodie Meeks added 27 points for the 76ers. "That's a good win for us," Collins said. "I'm proud of them. We have a competitiveness about us. Regardless of who plays, guys play to win. " The 76ers rested key players such as Elton Brand, Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams and...

In the end, there wasn't anything Brandon Jennings, Monta Ellis or anybody else could do to save the Milwaukee Bucks' faint playoff hopes. Not even winning. Jennings scored 25 points in the Bucks' 92-86 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Monday, but Milwaukee's postseason fate had already been decided. The Philadelphia 76ers beat the New Jersey Nets earlier in the night, clinching the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot and eliminating the Bucks from contention. "I'm disappointed — very disappointed," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said.

Brandon Jennings scored 30 points to lead the Milwaukee Bucks to a 106-95 victory over the New Jersey Nets on Saturday night that kept their slim playoff hopes alive. Jennings, who hit three straight 3-pointers late in the game, was 9 of 18 from the field and finished with six rebounds, six assists and four steals. Ersan Ilyasova added 17 points and 17 rebounds for the Bucks, who snapped a three-game losing streak and beat New Jersey for the 11th straight time. Philadelphia won in overtime at Indiana, meaning the 76ers' magic number is down to one to clinch the...

Danny Granger scored 29 points to help the Indiana Pacers beat the Milwaukee Bucks 118-109 on Thursday night and clinch homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. George Hill had 22 points and eight assists and David West added 21 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for the Pacers, who won their seventh straight and 11th of 12. The Pacers have scored at least 100 points in 12 of their last 13 games. Brandon Jennings scored 27 points and former Pacer Mike Dunleavy added 23 for the Bucks.

Jordan Crawford equaled a season-high with 32 points, and John Wall had 14 points and 10 assists Wednesday night as the Washington Wizards dealt the Milwaukee Bucks a crucial 121-112 defeat in their attempt for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Milwaukee began the day 1 ½ games behind Philadelphia for eighth place in the East, but lost a game as the Sixers won in Cleveland. The Bucks had the previous three days off while the Sixers were completing their third game in three nights.

J.R. Smith hit a 3-pointer for the lead with 1:04 left, and the New York Knicks held on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 111-107 on Wednesday night in a game that could turn out to be critical to both teams' playoff hopes. Carmelo Anthony had 32 points and 10 rebounds, while Tyson Chandler added 19 points for the Knicks, who took a two-game lead on Milwaukee for the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference. Smith had 14 points off the bench. Monta Ellis had 35 points and Brandon Jennings added 22 for the Bucks, who were coming off a 20-point loss to Oklahoma City at home on Monday.

First, Oklahoma City hit shots over the Milwaukee Bucks. Then the Thunder got under their skin. Russell Westbrook scored 26 points and the Thunder won their second straight, beating the Bucks 109-89 Monday in a game that featured seven technical fouls, an ejection of Bucks backup forward Larry Sanders and a confrontation between Mike Dunleavy and Serge Ibaka. Sanders was ejected after earning a pair of technicals in the second half, while Dunleavy, Brandon Jennings and coach Scott Skiles also were assessed technicals for Milwaukee.