Hawks down Milwaukee to clinch top seed in NBA's East

DeMarre Carroll scored a game-high 23 points and the Atlanta Hawks, already assured of the best record in the NBA Eastern Conference, ripped the Milwaukee Bucks 101-88.
Al Horford scored 18 points on Monday while Paul Millsap contributed 15 points and nine rebounds and Carroll added eight rebounds as the Hawks improved to 56-18, 4 1/2 games behind Golden State for the top record in the league.
Atlanta's Kyle Korver scored all 11 of his points in a 65-second span of the third quarter, boosting the Hawks' lead from five points to 16 on the way to their third victory in four games.
The Bucks dropped their 11th consecutive road game despite Zaza Pachulia's 17 points and game-high 13 rebounds against his former club.
Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 18 points, but the Bucks still lost for the eighth time in their past 10 starts overall.
The Hawks own a homecourt edge throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs and are the only club that could deny the overall playoff home court edge from going to Golden State (60-13).
At 36-38, the Bucks remained sixth in the Eastern Conference, three games ahead of Boston in the eighth and final East playoff position.
Source: AFP