Bucks and 76ers, who had high expectations this season, face early elimination Tuesday in Game 5s

NEW YORK — Perhaps neither Milwaukee nor Philadelphia would've been good enough to beat a Boston team that ran away to the NBA's best record.

The Bucks and 76ers surely never thought about going out in the first round of the playoffs, though.

Both teams will be facing that possibility Tuesday on a night of Game 5s in the Eastern Conference, with the New York Knicks able to eliminate the 76ers and the Indiana Pacers in position to knock out the Bucks.

Cleveland and Orlando are tied 2-2 in the only series that can't end Tuesday.

With both clubs being led by a former MVP, the Bucks and 76ers expected to at least contend for a spot in the East finals. Milwaukee even added All-Star help for Giannis Antetokounmpo by acquiring Damian Lillard from Portland in last summer's biggest trade.

But with both players hurt, the No. 3-seeded Bucks have dropped three straight games to fall into their 3-1 hole against the No. 6 Pacers.

“We have to play as hard as we can. We have to execute our game plan. We have to keep guys in check. Even though we’ve been down before, we’re down two guys now, we’ve still got all the confidence in the world that we can get back here,” Bucks veteran Khris Middleton said Sunday after a 126-113 loss at Indiana.

Antetokounmpo, who has missed the entire series with his left calf strain, and Lillard (right Achilles tendon) were both listed as doubtful to play.

At least the Bucks will be playing at home. The 76ers aim to stave off elimination on the road, though they certainly didn't have much of a home-court advantage Sunday, when a large and loud contingent of Knicks fans watched Jalen Brunson score a franchise playoff-record 47 points in New York's 97-92 victory.

Joel Embiid played the whole second half but didn't have a basket in the fourth quarter.

The 76ers were 29-13, just a half-game out of second place, after the reigning MVP scored a franchise-record 70 points in a victory at San Antonio on Jan. 22. But he needed left knee surgery in early February, with Philadelphia tumbling down the standings in his absence and needing to win a play-in game just to make the playoffs as a No. 7 seed.

That left the Sixers with a much more difficult first-round matchup than they would have faced had Embiid stayed healthy, but he still thinks they can solve it.

“We know we’re good enough,” he said.

Unlike the Bucks' All-Stars, Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell supposedly isn't hurt anymore, though it's hard to tell by his play. He was scoreless in the second half of a 23-point loss in Game 4, attempting just four shots. The Cavaliers were outscored 37-10 in the third quarter of that one, after losing by a franchise playoff-record 38 in Game 3.

But he and his teammates remain unshaken.

“We’re very confident,” Mitchell said following Monday’s practice. “We had two games that didn’t go our way. At the end of the day, they handled home court. We have things we can improve on, obviously, but it’s our job to do the same.”