Allen, Bucks Rally Past Celtics

The Milwaukee Bucks closed in on a playoff berth with what they've been doing well all season defense.

The Bucks held the Boston Celtics to 30 points in the second half Saturday night in an 88-79 victory that moved them closer to their first playoff berth in seven years.

"Defense has been our forte," Bucks coach George Karl said. "We're not a great defensive team, but by the fourth quarter, we tend to figure it out."

Cassell, who had played just one game for the Bucks since being acquired in a three-team trade, had been on the injured list since March 22 with a sprained ankle.

"I'm still rusty," Cassell said. "But we were missing players (Glenn Robinson and Dell Curry were both out with injuries) and I told Coach Karl I was ready to go."

The win snapped the Bucks' seven-game road losing streak and lowered their magic number for clinching a playoff berth to one.

"I'm not worrying about the matchups in the playoffs," Karl said. "I think to do that would put undue pressure on that team and that wouldn't be fair."

Ron Mercer had 21 points to lead the Celtics, who lost for the fourth time in their last five home games, while Tony Battie added 11 points and 13 rebounds.

"This is a disappointing loss," Celtics coach Rick Pitino said. "We still haven't learned our lesson. We deflate too much, if we are having an off night. It's still a sign of our youth and inexperience."

Boston is 4-1 in their last five road games.

"We're more focused on the road because it's us against the whole building," Mercer said. "At home we relax and that gets us beat."

The Bucks took control of the game with a 10-2 run midwa through the fourth quarter. Michael Curry and Armon Gilliam each had four points in the burst which ended when Curry's jumper with 3:38 remaining gave the Bucks their biggest lead of the night, 83-73.

The Celtics turned the ball over 20 times leading to 23 Milwaukee points and shot 28-of-75 (37 percent) from the field.

Allen hit two 3-pointers to trigger a 14-3 run to open the third quarter. His jumper with 7:48 left in the period gave Milwaukee a 57-52 lead.

Mercer scored 16 points and Battie had 11 points and seven rebounds as the Celtics led 49-43 at halftime.

Notes: Robinson injured his right knee in the first quarter Friday in Milwaukee's 81-76 loss to Detroit and did not make the trip to Boston. Curry was placed on the injured list by the Bucks prior to the game with lower back spasms. ... The Bucks have beaten Boston in eight of the last 11 meetings, including a three-game sweep this season. ... Pitino said forward Antoine Walker has recovered from his sprained ankle and will be in the starting lineup Monday against New York. Walker injured the ankle April 19 against Indiana and has missed the last six games. ... Greg Minor's fractured hip, sustained against Miami last Thursday, appears to be worse than the Celtics had thought. According to Pitino, "he will be out for at least three months and possibly longer."

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