Celts clinch top seed as East playoff picture set

They trail Boston by a game with just one more to play.

The Boston Celtics have clinched the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference both by way of their victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night and the Cleveland Cavaliers' loss at home to the Toronto Raptors. The 2017 National Basketball Association season isn't over yet, but Isaiah Thomas must contribute every ounce of energy that he has to make the Celtics effective.

Gerald Green scored 18 points, 10 of them in a 25-2 fourth-quarter run, and the Boston Celtics beat the resting Milwaukee Bucks 112-94 at home in the regular-season finale on Wednesday night to claim the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

In Monday's Jimmy's Take, our WKYC Channel 3 Sports Director again states his belief that the Cavs will shift to another gear once the playoffs begin, and no one in the East will be able to handle the defending NBA Champions in a 7 game series.

"It's very special. I mean, for me it is". No player scored over 15 points, but five were in double digits. "So I'm looking forward to going there and playing". Afterward, he said he was "100 percent".

Isaiah Thomas has been phenomenal all season, finishing third in scoring with a career-high 28.9 points per game. The coach was quoted from the Boston Herald saying that the Celtics are, "Not as good as our record", also noting that the Celtics are, "A long way to be what I think is competitive at a necessary level to be really good when it's all on the line". The Cavs did get forward Tristan Thompson back after he missed four games with a sprained right thumb.

Bradley came off the floor shaking his hand in the third quarter, but he was cleared to return.

Stevens said the sight gave him a bit of a scare.

In this case, familiarity could breed a far more interesting series than your average 1 vs. 8 matchup.

Rondo is now with the Bulls, starting 42 games at point guard with 7.8 points per game to go with 6.7 rebounds and 5.1 assists. The type of guys we have, the coaches, I know the amount of work we put in, the work our coaching staff puts in. Totals 37-84 14-17 94. Horford grabbed eight rebounds and added four assists, while Avery Bradley scored 18 points, Marcus Smart had 13 points and six assists, Jae Crowder 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists and Kelly Olynyk 11 points and six boards.

The rest of the East teams were already locked into their playoff positions before Wednesday: Toronto at No. 3, Washington at No. 4, Atlanta at No. 5 and Milwaukee at No. 6.

Boston was knocked out in the first round of the playoffs in each of the past two seasons.