NBA Playoffs

Jrue Holiday scored 20 points, and Elton Brand had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead the tough-and-determined Philadelphia 76ers past the Celtics, 82-75 on Wednesday night to send the Eastern Conference semifinals back to Boston for Game 7.

Brandon Bass scored 18 of his postseason career-high 27 points in the third quarter on Monday night as the Boston Celtics pulled away from the Philadelphia 76ers to win 101-85 and take a 3-2 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Kevin Garnett scored 27 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, and used a dominant second quarter to help the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 107-91 on Wednesday night and take a 2-1 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Evan Turner made the go-ahead layup with 40.4 seconds left and Philadelphia held off Boston the rest of the way with six straight free throws as the 76ers evened the second-round Eastern Conference series with an 82-81 victory Monday night.

Andre Iguodala made the go-ahead free throws with 2.2 seconds left and the Philadelphia 76ers rallied for a 79-78 victory over the top-seeded Chicago Bulls in Game 6 on Thursday night, advancing to the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs for the first time since 2003.

LeBron James had 29 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and the Miami Heat beat the New York Knicks 106-94 on Wednesday night to win the Eastern Conference first-round series in five games.

Luol Deng scored 24 points, Carlos Boozer added 19 points and 13 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Philadelphia 76ers 77-69 on Tuesday night to avoid a first-round playoff exit.

Spencer Hawes scored 21 points, grabbed nine rebounds and hit the go-ahead jumper late in the fourth quarter to help the Philadelphia 76ers rally to beat the Chicago Bulls 79-74 on Friday night and take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference playoff series.

LeBron James scored 32 points, including eight straight to start the fourth quarter and break open the game, and the Miami Heat took a 3-0 lead, sending the New York Knicks to an NBA postseason-record 13th straight loss, 87-70 on Thursday night.

Jrue Holiday scored 26 points, Lou Williams added 20 and the Philadelphia 76ers beat Chicago 109-92 on Tuesday night to even their first-round series in the Bulls' first game since Derrick Rose's season-ending knee injury.