Bucks win season finale, to play Hawks in playoffs

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BOSTON - The Milwaukee Bucks will play the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. The Bucks earned the number-six seed in the Eastern Conference after winning their regular season finale at Boston last night, 106-to-95.

The Bucks still didn’t know after the game who they’d be playing in Round-One. But the die was cast after Miami beat New Jersey in double-overtime, giving the Heat the number-five seed and a first-round date with the Celtics. Boston rested its Big-Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen last night – and the Bucks pulled away from the Celtics’ reserves in the second half. Milwaukee led by five at the break, and by as many as 18 in the fourth quarter. Bucks’ coach Scott Skiles began the game with his starters, but none of them played more than 23 minutes.

Jerry Stackhouse and Luke Ridnour each scored 17 off the bench, and back-up center Dan Gadzuric had 14 points and nine rebounds. Rajon Rondo had 21 points and 15 assists for Boston.

The Bucks ended the regular season at 46-and-36, their first winning campaign in nine years. The Bucks’ first playoff game since 2006 will begin at 4:30 on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta. The first home contest will be Game-Three, a week from Saturday night.

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