NEW YORK — Perhaps neither Milwaukee nor Philadelphia would’ve been good enough to beat a Boston team that ran away to the NBA’s best record.
The Bucks and 76ers surely never thought about going out in the first round of the playoffs, though.
Both teams will be facing that possibility Tuesday on a night of Game 5s in the Eastern Conference, with the New York Knicks able to eliminate the 76ers and the Indiana Pacers in position to knock out the Bucks.
Cleveland and Orlando are tied 2-2 in the only series that can’t end Tuesday.
With both clubs being led by a former MVP, the Bucks and 76ers expected to at least contend for a spot in the East finals. Milwaukee even added All-Star help for Giannis Antetokounmpo by acquiring Damian Lillard from Portland in last summer’s biggest trade.
But with both players hurt, the No. 3-seeded Bucks have dropped three straight games to fall into their 3-1 hole against the No. 6 Pacers.
“We have to play as hard as we can. We have to execute our game plan. We have to keep guys in check. Even though we’ve been down before, we’re down two guys now, we’ve still got all the confidence in the world that we can get back here,” Bucks veteran Khris Middleton said Sunday after a 126-113 loss at Indiana.
Antetokounmpo, who has missed the entire series with his left calf strain, and Lillard (right Achilles tendon) were both listed as doubtful to play.
At least the Bucks will be playing at home. The 76ers aim to stave off elimination on the road, though they certainly didn’t have much of a home-court advantage Sunday, when a large and loud contingent of Knicks fans watched Jalen Brunson score a franchise playoff-record 47 points in New York’s 97-92 victory.
Joel Embiid played the whole second half but didn’t have a basket in the fourth quarter.
The 76ers were 29-13, just a half-game out of second place, after the reigning MVP scored a franchise-record 70 points in a victory at San Antonio on Jan. 22. But he needed left knee surgery in early February, with Philadelphia tumbling down the standings in his absence and needing to win a play-in game just to make the playoffs as a No. 7 seed.
That left the Sixers with a much more difficult first-round matchup than they would have faced had Embiid stayed healthy, but he still thinks they can solve it.
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76ERS AT KNICKS
New York leads 3-1. Game 5, 7 p.m. EDT, TNT
The Knicks need one victory to reach the Eastern Conference semifinals in consecutive years. They haven’t done that since going that far nine straight times from 1992-2000.
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MAGIC AT CAVALIERS
Series tied 2-2, Game 5, 8 p.m. EDT, NBA TV
The series has gone as expected: physical, defensive-minded, tense and tight with both teams holding serve at home. However, Orlando’s decisive wins in Games 3 and 4 were a surprise given the team’s offensive challenges most of the season. For the Magic to win at Cleveland, they’ll have to shoot better than in Games 1 and 2, when they were a combined 17 of 72 on 3-pointers.
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PACERS AT BUCKS
Indiana leads 3-1. Game 5, 9:30 p.m. EDT, TNT
The Pacers are one win away from advancing beyond the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2014, when they reached the East finals. Milwaukee is staring at the possibility of losing 4-1 to a lower-seeded team in the opening round of the playoffs for a second consecutive season. Last year, the Bucks had the NBA’s top seed but lost to Miami in the opening round. The Bucks have never won a playoff series in which they trailed 3-1.