Trio very close to moving on

NEW YORK — The Boston Celtics, New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers are on the verge of a second round that appears to be taking shape quickly in the Eastern Conference.

Nothing can be decided tonight in the only game out West, where the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers might be nowhere near finished in a series that’s too close to call as they play their Game 5.

The Celtics, Knicks and Pacers will all be on their home floors with 3-1 leads they took with road victories on Sunday. Teams have failed to advance with that lead only 13 times in NBA history, so all three are in good shape to return to the conference semifinals for the second straight year.

The defending champion Celtics, seeded second, and No. 3-seeded Knicks would set up the first playoff meeting between the longtime rivals since 2013. Boston needs one more victory over Orlando, while New York can finish off Detroit after pulling out a 94-93 victory in Game 4 after officials said they missed what should have been a foul call against Josh Hart on Tim Hardaway Jr.’s 3-point attempt with 0.3 seconds remaining.

The No. 4-seeded Pacers can knock out Milwaukee, playing without Damian Lillard, for the second straight year. Cleveland, the top seed, was trying to complete a sweep of Miami on Monday.

“Everybody in the locker room knows what the deal is. We’ve got to go into Indiana, play some good basketball,” Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo said. “Obviously we don’t have Dame. But the next guy’s got to step up. We’ve got to do what we’ve got to do. Move the ball, play together, try to win the game and come back.”

The Nuggets and Clippers, on the other hand, might be going down to the wire.

They sure did on Saturday, when Aaron Gordon’s dunk of Nikola Jokic’s missed shot at the buzzer tied the series at 2-2. The Clippers had won Game 3 easily, but the other three games have been decided by three or fewer points.

So Gordon and the Nuggets didn’t celebrate too long after that victory.

“(It’s) 2-2 right now,” teammate Michael Porter Jr. said. “Big win. We get to go back home, but it’s so far from over.”

Elsewhere:

n Damian Lillard has a torn left Achilles tendon, confirming the Milwaukee Bucks’ worst fears after the seven-time all-NBA guard was helped off the court Sunday night. The Bucks announced the severity of Lillard’s injury after he had an MRI on Monday. The injury knocks Lillard out for the rest of the postseason and could put his status for next season in doubt as well. When Kevin Durant tore his Achilles tendon in the 2019 NBA Finals, he ended up missing the entire 2019-20 season. The Bucks had been bracing for this outcome after Milwaukee’s 129-103 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game 4. Milwaukee trails the Indiana Pacers 3-1 in their Eastern Conference first-round series. Game 5 is tonight at Indianapolis. Lillard’s injury occurred in his third game since coming back from deep vein thrombosis in his right calf.

n Stephen Curry has picked up another NBA award. He was voted the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year by his peers. Already a two-time NBA MVP and the league’s career leader in 3-pointers, Curry was honored for his “selfless play, on- and off-court leadership as a mentor and role model to other NBA players, and commitment and dedication to team.” Curry has spent his entire 16-year career with the Golden State Warriors, helping them win four championships. He received 66 first-place votes and 1,257 points to beat Houston veteran center Steven Adams, who appeared on more ballots and finished with 46 first-place votes and 1,237 points.

CAVALIERS 138, HEAT 83: Cleveland moved into Round 2 with the most lopsided series win in NBA playoff history. Donovan Mitchell scored 22 points, De’Andre Hunter added 19 and the Cavaliers led by as many as 60 points before beating the Miami Heat on Monday night to sweep their Eastern Conference first-round series in four games. Ty Jerome had 18 points, Evan Mobley added 17 and Jarrett Allen had 14 points, 12 rebounds and six steals for the Cavaliers. Cleveland won the series by a combined 122 points, one more than the previous record for series margin set by Denver over New Orleans in 2009.

The 55-point margin in Game 4 was the fourth-biggest playoff win ever. The record is 58 points, done twice: Minneapolis over St. Louis in 1956 and Denver over New Orleans in 2009. The Los Angeles Lakers beat Golden State by 56 points in 1973. Nikola Jovic led the Heat with 24 points. Ban Adebayo chipped in with 13 points.

, while Pelle Larsson and Andrew Wiggins each added 12 for Miami.