They hit 3s whether they were wide open or had a defender in their face. They hit them from the corners and the wings.The Nets shot 48 percent from behind the arc in a 119-111 win Thursday night over the Bucks Authentic Paul Worrilow Jersey , though it seemed like they just couldn’t miss. Allen Crabbe scored 25 points and led a 19-of-39 3-point shooting with two
3s in the closing minutes of a tight game.This win over a playoff-bound team will serve as motivation for the Nets as they close out an otherwise disappointing regular season.”I keep saying `We’re playing for a lot,”’ coach Kenny Atkinson said. ”We’re playing for our future, we’re playing for our culture … we’re playing for our
fans.”And making it a little tougher for the Bucks to climb up the East standings.This isn’t the way that Milwaukee wanted to play a night after clinching its third postseason berth in four years thanks to Detroit’s loss to
Philadelphia.The Bucks and Washington Wizards are tied for seventh with identical 42-37 records, a game behind sixth-place Miami. But the Wizards have the tiebreaker
with the Bucks because of a better conference record.Washington lost at Cleveland on Thursday night, meaning the Bucks missed a golden opportunity to move up with the 53-loss Nets in town.”We’ve got to win and they’ve got to lose now,” Bucks center John Henson said. ”That’s why it’s important to win games like this tonight because that
matters at the end of the season.”Khris Middleton scored 31 points, while Giannis Antetokounmpo had 19 points and 10 rebounds for Milwaukee.Undermanned in the frontcourt because of injuries, the Nets packed the paint to try to prevent the free-wheeling Antetokounmpo from having his way around the
rim. Brooklyn center Jarrett Allen had a career high five blocks Cheap Ryan Jensen Jersey , and the Nets finished with 12 on the night.”He’s got to be our paint-patroller, our rim-protector,” Atkinson said about Allen. ”He was outstanding patrolling the paint tonight.”A hot night from 3-point territory made up for any other shortcomings.Crabbe was clutch by hitting two of his five 3s over the final three minutes, the second coming with 1:18 left to give the Nets a six-point lead that sent
Bucks fans to the exits.D’Angelo Russell was 4 of 10 from the arc and finished with 22 points. Joe Harris was 3 of 5 and finished with 17 points.”The answer is we did not defend it pretty well,” Bucks coach Joe Prunty said when asked to explain his team’s perimeter defense. ”We defended it pretty
poorly.”TIP INSNets: The frontcourt was beset by injuries with F DeMarre Carroll (left hip) and C Jahlil Okafor (right ankle) each missing the game after getting hurt in a
loss Tuesday at Philadelphia. … F Dante Cunningham did not dress because of back
spasms.Bucks: F Jabari Parker had a couple highlight-reel dunks but finished 6 of 21 from the field for 13 points. He added 10 rebounds. … G Eric Bledsoe had 16
points and six assists.MILESTONEThe Nets tied a franchise record set last season with a 14th straight game of at least 10 3-pointers.BUCKS SPARKBrooklyn had the Bucks on their heels until Bledsoe’s energetic play gave Milwaukee a spark on both ends of the floor. The speedy point guard had two
steals during an 18-3 run in the third quarter, finishing the spurt with a
corner 3 for a 75-71 lead with 2:22 left.But the Bucks were just 5 of 20 overall from 3-point range.”We couldn’t shoot it in the ocean, they got a chance to get them,” Parker said.START IT UPBrooklyn’s 23rd different starting lineup of the season had a hot first half. The quintet of center Allen Terrell Edmunds Steelers Jersey , forwards Harris and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson along with guards Crabbe and Russell combined to shoot 57
percent in the first half and 44 percent (9 of 22) from the 3-point arc to take
a 52-45 lead at halftime.QUOTABLE”Everybody says (we’ve) got nothing to play for, so we might as well get as many wins as we can before the season ends.” – Crabbe.UP NEXTNets: At Chicago on Friday night.Bucks: At New York on Friday night.—More NBA basketball: With Kyrie Irving ruled out for the rest of the season, the Celtics now have a clearer picture of what their roster will look like
entering the postseason.In its 111-104 win over the Chicago on Friday night, Boston showed that at the very least it has a remaining group of players eager to step up and
contribute to its injury-torn rotation.Greg Monroe came off the bench and had 19 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists to notch his second career triple-double. Jaylen Brown finished with a
career-high 32 points as the Celtics stopped a two-game slide.It was Boston’s first game since Kyrie Irving was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs because of an upcoming surgery on his left
knee.”Guys were resting, guys are hurt,” Monroe said. ”I guess (the offense) was running through me by default, I guess. But it was just about moving the
ball.”Coach Brad Stevens said his message to the team afterward was that ”everything matters” from this point forward.With Al Horford and Jayson Tatum given the night off to rest Derek Jeter Jersey , Boston went deep into its bench against a Chicago team that’s one of the worst in the NBA.Chicago led by as many as 11 in the first half before Boston trimmed it to 58-55 at the half. The Celtics outscored the Bulls 56-46 over the final two
quarters.Sean Kilpatrick led Chicago with 24 points. Lauri Markkanen added 20 points and five rebounds.”I thought we went out there and played really hard and put ourselves in a position to be there right at the end,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said.Stevens said the effort of younger players such as Jabari Bird (career-high 15 points) and new addition Jonathan Gibson (nine points) is most encouraging.
Gibson, 30, was officially signed out of the Chinese Basketball Association via
an injury hardship waiver earlier in the day. He took a red-eye flight to make
it in time for tip-off.”I was triple-teamed all year, coming out here and being open and being the floor spacer and being able to create for other guys was definitely a great
opportunity for me,” he said.Marcus Morris and Bobby Portis were both ejected late in the third quarter after receiving back-to-back double-technical fouls.TIP-INSBulls: Had a three-game winning streak snapped. … Went 14 of 30 from the 3-point line.Celtics: Monroe is the first Celtics center to record a triple-double since Robert Parish did it on March 29, 1987. … Bird made his first career 3-pointer
in the first quarter. In his first nine career NBA games he had just five points
on 1-of-4 shooting. In the first 8 minutes on Friday he scored 11 points,
connecting on 5 of his first 8 field goals.GETTING RESTStevens said the plan over Boston’s final three regular-season games is give other players rest as well before the start of the playoffs.”I’d like to get one Cheap Mike Hughes Jersey , possibly two games with our group as is to play before we head in,” Stevens said. ”We’ll manage that as we move forward.
Knock on wood.”STAYING UPBEATStevens said Irving was ”bummed” after his decision to have his latest procedure, which is scheduled for Saturday. It will be his second surgery on the
knee in a month, and will remove screws at the site of an infection.Terry Rozier said Irving was in good spirits when he spoke with teammates.”It wasn’t affecting him at all. And if it was we wouldn’t know because he’s that type of type of guy he is,” Rozier said. ”He’s still joking. … He’s still
making everybody laugh when you come in the room. So you can’t really tell.”Irving’s long-term prognosis is good, Stevens said.”The structure of the knee is good. Everything around the knee is good,” Stevens said. ”Everybody’s told us from the get-go that it was going to be a
full recovery. We just didn’t anticipate having to take the screws out. But that
shouldn’t affect him at all as far as a full recovery goes.”UP NEXTBulls: Host Nets on Saturday.Celtics: Host Hawks on Sunday.—More NBA basketball: .
