Milwaukee has second place in the Eastern Conference to itself with two games to play after a 127-121 win over Boston at Fiserv Forum Thursday night.

The Bucks closed on an 18-7 run over the final 7:31 of the game to erase a 5-point deficit. It included a pair of 3-pointers from Bobby Portis and a key offensive rebound and put-back by Jrue Holiday to give them the win and a split of the season series.

Holiday finished with 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, while Giannis Antetokounmpo had 29 points and 11 rebounds. The latter also had the go-ahead free throw to give the Bucks a lead they would not relinquish with 1:31 left. Portis had 17 off the bench.

Playing without two key pieces in All-Star Jayson Tatum and forward Al Horford, Boston put up a fight in a battle of title contenders. The Celtics hit 21 3-pointers on the night with five different players having at least two. Marcus Smart paced the visitors with 29 points, while Jaylen Brown and Daniel Theis each had 22.

The teams came into the night tied for the No. 2 seed with Philadelphia, but with the Bucks win and the 76ers losing in Toronto, Milwaukee is now all alone behind Miami, which clinched the top seed Thursday.

As it stands, the Bucks would face Cleveland in the first round of playoffs, though there are still quite a few moving pieces that could result in them playing Brooklyn or one of the other teams involved in the play-in games.

Milwaukee will close out the regular season with trips to Detroit on Friday and Cleveland on Sunday.