LOS ANGELES (AFP) --- Jaylen Brown scored 26 points and Jayson Tatum added 23 as the Boston Celtics thrashed the Milwaukee Bucks 133-101 on Friday to maintain their grip on third place in the National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference.

Tatum added 11 rebounds, nine assists and three steals before he and Brown sat out the fourth quarter with the game in hand against the reeling Bucks.

Two nights after their 53-point first quarter against Miami, the Celtics got off to another hot start.

Eight of their 17 three-pointers came in their 43-point first period and they led 75-55 half time.

The Celtics, who have won five of their last six games, maintained their two-and-a-half game lead over the New York Knicks for second place in the East.

The Knicks, who have struggled of late against quality teams, had no problem in a 136-96 thrashing of the Chicago Bulls, who have been eliminated from playoff contention.

OG Anunoby scored a game-high 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Jalen Brunson and Mitchell Robinson added 17 points apiece, Brunson chipping in 11 rebounds as well.

Anunoby connected on nine of 15 shots from the field, including seven of 10 from three-point range. Robinson, starting in place of injured center Karl-Anthony Towns, made all seven of his shots.

The Atlanta Hawks, fifth in the East, cruised past the Brooklyn Nets 141-107 and the Philadelphia 76ers maintained their hold on sixth place in the East -- and the final direct entry berth to the playoffs -- with a 115-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Paul George scored 23 points, Tyrese Maxey chipped in 21 and Joel Embiid returned from a one-game absence due to illness and scored 19 points with 13 rebounds and seven assists.

With five games left in the regular season the Sixers remained a fraction ahead of the seventh-placed Toronto Raptors, who beat the Memphis Grizzlies 128-96 to stay atop the tightly bunched group jockeying for play-in position.

The eighth-placed Charlotte Hornets beat the Indiana Pacers 129-108, and the Orlando Magic, half a game back and clinging to ninth place ahead of the Miami Heat, withstood a spectacular 51-point performance from Dallas rookie Cooper Flagg in a 138-127 victory over the Mavericks.

Flagg, 19, became the first teenager to record a 50-point game in the NBA.