Los Angeles Lakers guard Lonzo Ball and his agent, Harrison Gaines, have mutually agreed to part ways.

"Harrison Gaines has been a trusted advisor and close friend for many years," Ball told ESPN in a statement. "He guided my NBA career with integrity and always had my best interests at heart."

Although the announcement comes two weeks after Ball severed ties with and sued former Big Baller Brand co-founder Alan Foster for damages of at least $2 million, Ball insisted Gaines supported him through that situation and that this decision was unrelated.

"Harrison has always had my back and although we will no longer be working together after mutually deciding to part ways; our relationship will always be bigger than basketball," Ball said in the statement.

Gaines had been Ball's agent since Ball left UCLA after his freshman season. Ball was Gaines' first client, but unlike many others hired by Lonzo's father, LaVar Ball, Gaines was never a part of Big Baller Brand. Instead, he founded his own agency, SLASH Sports, with which he represents former NBA prospect Xavier Thames and former NBA players Jamaal Franklin, Isaiah Austin, Jabari Brown. He also represents Yale's Miye Oni, whom ESPN's Jonathan Givony ranks as No. 53 among ESPN's top 100 prospects for this summer's draft.

"Lonzo Ball was the first client to sign with me. He has been nothing short of phenomenal and is one of the bright young NBA Stars. I thank him and his family for giving me an opportunity," Gaines told ESPN in a statement. "Mutually, we have decided to part ways. I wish Lonzo great success in the future. As I turn this page, I will continue to work hard for all of my clients."

PHILADELPHIA -- The last time the Milwaukee Bucks ended the regular season with the NBA's best record, they also had the NBA's Most Valuable Player.

Forty-five years later, history might be about to repeat itself.

Thanks to the latest spectacular performance from Giannis Antetokounmpo -- who finished with 45 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks in 35 minutes -- the Bucks beat the Philadelphia 76ers 128-122 in front of a sellout crowd at Wells Fargo Center. The victory clinched the best record and home-court advantage throughout the upcoming NBA playoffs for the Bucks for the first time since 1974 -- when Kareem Abdul-Jabbar claimed the third of six MVP awards in his career.

With his performance Thursday night, Antetokounmpo not only carried Milwaukee to a win, but he also might have taken a large step toward claiming the first MVP award of his career. It came in a game in which fellow All-Star Khris Middleton was limited to 25 minutes coming off a groin injury and guard Eric Bledsoe was ejected less than three minutes following an altercation with 76ers star Joel Embiid.

"I think the team did a great job keeping its composure," Antetokounmpo said. "Obviously [Bledsoe] went to the locker room in the first quarter, but everybody stepped up. Guys came in, hit big shots, played defense, played hard, and it's big for us. A lot of guys are missing. ... It just feels good that we have 12 guys, 15 guys that are able on any given night to step up and help this team."

None of them, though, do so quite like Antetokounmpo can -- and like he did Thursday night in locking up the top seed in the Eastern Conference for his team.

"Yeah, that felt like a statement," Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "Especially with what he does defensively with the five blocks and 13 rebounds and changes the game ... finishing and making free throws.

"He's an MVP in our eyes, so we'll keep him," he added with a laugh.

Antetokounmpo certainly played like it in this one, dominating at both ends even as the Bucks were playing without Bledsoe for most of the night, as well as starter Malcolm Brogdon and key reserve Nikola Mirotic, who remain out with long-term injuries. And while Philadelphia was without Jimmy Butler, who sat with back spasms, the Sixers maintained a lead for much of the second half.

But it was Milwaukee that closed the game out with a 15-4 run over the final 2:53 to get the win -- one that included seven points on three straight baskets by George Hill (the last of which was a fast-break layup assisted by Antetokounmpo), followed by Antetokounmpo getting a massive block of an Embiid drive and then starting another fast break that resulted in a Sterling Brown layup that put the game away for Milwaukee.

"It was a good win," Hill said. "Any time you're playing one of the playoff teams, the environment is going to be hostile -- especially on their home court. That's a really good ball team over there. So it's good to find ways to win when you may not be playing well, you may not be making shots, with everyone digging deep and finding ways to win."

Now the Bucks have three more games left to try to get to 60 wins for just the fifth time in franchise history, and Antetokounmpo has three more games to try to impress voters for the league's MVP award.

"I don't like talking about myself, talking about the MVP," Antetokounmpo said. "As I have said in the past, if you keep winning, it will take care of itself."

Like he has so many times this season, Antetokounmpo made sure the Bucks won again Thursday night.

Last 10 things of the season, so let's blow it out:

1. Klay Thompson is the NBA's ultimate stabilizer

Sixty points on 11 dribbles. Tom Haberstroh unearthed that incredible stat from Thompson's December 2016 avalanche against Indiana. The number took on a life of its own, and almost came to define Thompson -- the luxury of his existence as a catch-and-shoot specialist bobbing around Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and one of the greatest playmaking big men ever in Draymond Green.

Thompson is a shooter first, but he has quietly built out his offensive game a little more every season. He's more confident pushing the ball, and reading layers of cascading players to anticipate who might spring open:

That play starts with Thompson uprooting Clint Capela, a much larger human, with a textbook boxout. Never forget: Thompson is tough as hell. He defends elite point guards so Curry doesn't have to. He will switch onto anyone. Power forwards have a tough time moving him in the post. He plays hard, he plays hurt, he plays through exhaustion. He never chafes publicly about his role.

He has long been a genius cutter and screener, and he's comfortable now attacking scrambled defenses off the dribble -- and threading slick interior passes:

Golden State loses something ineffable without Thompson. There are games in which he somehow feels like their most important player. It is not a stretch to say he played nearly as central a role as Curry in establishing Golden State's culture.

2. James Harden's floater -- and the threat of it

Welp, there are officially no holes in Harden's offensive game:

Harden is shooting 46 percent from floater range, by far the best mark of his career, per Cleaning The Glass. He has also taken many more of them; the NBA has logged Harden attempting 213 floaters this season, up from 91 last season.

By making the step-back 3-pointer efficient, Harden has essentially broken basketball. There is no way to guard him, beyond having an army of quick, tall and smart players who can bother that shot without fouling, or falling too far behind on drives. (The Warriors might be the only team with enough such players.)

Teams have settled on the Bucks/Spurs strategy of climbing atop Harden's left shoulder and inviting him to drive almost all the way to the rim. No player -- not even Stephen Curry, who revolutionized basketball before Harden revolutionized it again -- has ever been given such open runways into the most profitable territory on the floor. The hope, of course, is to stop Harden before he is in layup range, barricade the lob to Capela, and coax a floater.

This is how the Spurs contained Harden in the 2017 Western Conference semifinals, a humiliation that has proven an inflection point for Harden's development. If teams were going to guard him this way, Harden needed a reliable floater -- even if he would always strive for something better.

Defenses respect it now, and Harden is leveraging that respect into kickout passes:

Harden looks like he's gathering the ball for a teardrop. The defenders seem to expect it; they almost freeze in anticipation. In that moment, Harden shifts the ball in his hand, and whips it to Daniel House.

Harden's style can grow tiresome. But watching how each opponent crafts its own Harden-specific strategy, and how Harden methodically dissects it, is one of the NBA's great theater pieces -- a night-to-night chess match that gets juicier in the playoffs.

3. A RoLo Renaissance

The one bright spot of the Bulls starting a glorified G League team over the past month: They have no better option than to throw the ball to Lopez in the post, and let him pivot opposing centers in circles.

It's kind of working. The Bulls have averaged 1.1 points since the trade deadline when Lopez shoots from the block, or dishes to a teammate who finishes the possession, per Second Spectrum. That is comfortably above average, and legit impressive considering the surrounding, umm, talent.

Lopez is tossing in patented floor-scraping ice cream scoop shots, where he palms the ball almost at knee level, extends his arm, and flips a weirdo hook over his head.

When he enters pivot mode, it sometimes looks as if he's the only player standing on a very slow-moving turntable:

Lopez is one of the league's beloved teammates. He revels in grunt work. He stayed upbeat even as fellow Bulls contemplated a full-scale mutiny, and good players around him kept disappearing. It has been nice to see him show off his scoring ability.

4. When the contemplative guys stop being contemplative

Al Horford and Marc Gasol are rightfully lauded for their thoughtful selflessness. They seldom chase shots before checking if they can conjure something for a teammate.

It is almost jarring, and a little charming, when they decide to let loose and go for it:

Gasol knows Brook Lopez is lumbering toward him, and will have trouble reversing momentum. He doesn't pause to pump fake, or scan for passes. He just nods at the rim and goes.

This is their version of giving into temptation. They are like wary teenagers daring to see what it feels like go 60 in a 30-mph zone. (Don't do this, teenagers.) You almost worry they are going to get addicted to the thrill, and lose something fundamental about themselves.

Horford flashed more of this explosive bravado last season. Both are more dangerous when they dial the pass-or-score calculus just a hair more toward "score."

They stand as postseason bellwethers. Boston and Toronto need the peak versions of both to get where they want to go.

Both can jostle with Joel Embiid, and stretch him out on the other end. Horford can at least make Giannis Antetokounmpo work for it. Gasol has injected more connectivity and calm into Toronto's offense. The Raptors have the look of a team gelling at the right moment.

5. The plateauing of Josh Richardson and Hassan Whiteside

As the Heat hover in the race for one of the last three Eastern Conference playoff spots -- a race in which everyone seems to lose unless they play a tank team -- they have to be disappointed in the play of two would-be franchise pillars.

Whiteside hasn't really been that in a while. Miami re-signed him to a max deal in the orgiastic summer of 2016 because they were backed into a corner. Fit between player and team has always been fraught. Now, Whiteside is a high-profile backup. The flip side of that transition is happy: Bam Adebayo is a legit starter -- hoppy, fast, a smart passer with growing confidence in his elbow jumper.

Whiteside has had some monster games off the bench, including against Boston on Wednesday. He puts up numbers. A lot of his advanced defensive metrics are better than ever.

But he can't shake bad habits. He still chases no-chance-in-hell blocks, leaving the defensive glass naked:

He can be baited into overplaying his hand early in defending the pick-and-roll:

Richardson's shooting numbers ticked down before his injury Wednesday: 41 percent overall, 36 percent from deep. The burden of first-option semi-stardom proved a little much. He looks more at home toggling between that role and rocketing off pindowns while Justise Winslow runs point.

And that's fine! Winslow is enjoying a career season. Richardson is a really good two-way player. But he'll turn 26 before next season, and didn't make the sort of progression Miami envisioned when he became a sticking point in trade talks for an All-Star.

The next five days in Miami, Detroit, Brooklyn, Orlando and (kinda) Charlotte are gonna be fascinating.

6. The twisting goodness of Paul Millsap

Denver's starting five has been stout -- plus-9.4 points per 100 possessions in almost 400 minutes -- even though Will Barton and Gary Harris haven't quite gotten going for any sustained period. (The Nuggets need them to click into place, like, now.)

Millsap has faded into the background since shifting West. He won't make All-Star teams anymore. He has missed significant chunks of two seasons. He has finished only 19.6 percent of Denver's possessions with a shot, drawn foul or turnover -- his lowest usage rate in almost a decade. He is, basically, a role player.

But he's a damned good one. He remains a heady defender -- nimble in space, unmovable in the post, snatching steals with his magnetized meat hooks. Defenses have gotten more brazen ignoring Millsap to muck up Nikola Jokic's passing lanes, but Millsap makes them pay. He's an underrated cutter, and he's quietly shooting 36 percent from deep -- and posting his best true-shooting mark since 2011.

He's also something of a low-to-the-ground acrobat, with an arsenal of strange twisting finishes and reverse spins that flummox defenders:

Look at this pass!

Millsap is one of the league's ultimate gap-fillers -- on both ends. He senses what the Nuggets need, and does it. He seizes more of the offense if things bog down. He can create something from nothing in crunch time. He always appears in the right place, at the right time, on defense.

The Nuggets have a $30 million team option on Millsap for next season. Denver is rising, with limited means of replacing Millsap if they let him walk. I'd bet on the two sides working something out.

7. Fearless Frank Jackson

Jackson's late-season surge has been one of those random enjoyable tanking season things. He averaged 15.5 points per game in March on 48 percent shooting, including 38 percent from deep.

It is hard to tell if such out-of-the-blue pushes in March and April mean anything. Half the teams aren't trying.

I have no idea what Jackson is on a good team. He hasn't spent much time as the Pellies' lead playmaker, or shown the passing chops for that job. He's undersized guarding most starting wings; his defense has been scattershot. He has hit only 31 percent from deep, and doesn't get to the line much.

But he attacks the rim with a certain head-down fearlessness that could serve him well as a hybrid bench gunner:

He has a handy floater, too.

Jackson is worth watching -- including in Summer League, where he should get to experiment with a larger ball-handling role.

8. Mmm, Bacon

Charlotte pulled something unusual in never officially surrendering in the playoff chase while still shifting minutes to Miles Bridges and Dwayne Bacon at the expense of Jeremy Lamb (a free agent) and Nicolas Batum. (Prediction: Batum is not in Charlotte next season. I would peg a Batum departure as even more likely if Kemba Walker re-signs.)

Bacon is shooting 47 percent on 3s, and has looked more in command handling the ball. He has a fondness for the elbows, and a whiff of Joe Johnson's leaning midrange style:

To advance beyond 3-and-D specialist -- and his defense is uneven -- Bacon needs to pry open better stuff. He doesn't get to the rim or the line enough. He has the assist rate of a catch-and-finish center. But he has shown something in this stretch -- including in three straight 20-plus scoring games in late March.

Bridges is going to be good -- a multi-positional Swiss Army knife. Bacon is at least a rotation guy. The Hornets have to let Malik Monk play through mistakes, or trade him. After missing on heaps of picks, Charlotte needs the Bridges/Bacon/Monk trio to pop.

9. Blah playmaking from high-volume post-up guys

If you are going to post up a lot in 2019, you have to be a good passer. It's nonnegotiable against sophisticated help defenses that take away the easiest shots and most obvious kickout passes.

Three guys to monitor: Aaron Gordon, Harrison Barnes and Jonas Valanciunas.

Gordon's adventures in post work always seem to end in fading bank shots:

The Magic have scored just 0.89 points per possession when Gordon shoots out of the post, or passes to a teammate who shoots right away -- 95th out of 109 guys who have recorded at least 50 post-ups, per Second Spectrum. He does not dish dimes, or draw a lot of shooting fouls from the block.

Valanciunas has made real strides as a passer in space on the pick-and-roll, and as a handoff hub. Playmaking with his back to the basket has come more slowly. Valanciunas misses cutters, or sees them too late:

He makes the pass the defense expects -- the one they can live with -- and not the one that hurts.

Barnes' development might be most important among these three. The Kings have a huge, franchise-altering decision to make on him -- this summer or next, depending on what Barnes does with his player option. He loves to work one-on-one, and there is a place for that -- especially if it comes after a Fox-Barnes pick-and-roll triggers a switch.

Barnes is better than critics think at using his size as a weapon. A full 17 percent of Barnes' post-ups have resulted in shooting fouls, fourth-highest in that same 109-player sample -- behind only Joel Embiid, Alex Len (who has had an under-the-radar kinda interesting season in Atlanta) and Danilo Gallinari, per Second Spectrum.

But Barnes is deliberate to a fault, and often a beat late spotting cutters and shooters:

Sacramento orbits post-ups with Golden State style cutting and screening, but Barnes can gum that up by putting his head down just as one cutter pops open -- and sometimes even bounding into that teammate's path:

10. Aaron Gordon, you scamp!

Check out Gordon on the right block as Terrence Ross misses this free throw:

Yes! The NBA needs more trickery. Some team should develop a variation of the infamous "barking dog" play. If you saved something like that for a high-leverage moment, there is at least a 50 percent chance it would work, right?

I am already on record as a fan of fake timeouts: a ball-handler slow-dribbles up the sideline, dejected look on his face, as if his coach is going to stop play -- only to suddenly snap into a hard-charging drive just as the defense relaxes.

Gordon didn't get this rebound, but the basketball gods appreciated his creativity and guided the ball back to Orlando.

11. Eric Bledsoe in chaos

The Bucks replaced non-shooting centers with Brook Lopez mostly to open the floor for their only remaining non-shooter: Antetokounmpo. But the extra space has helped everyone. Bledsoe, healthy and bouncing with an angry verve, has become one of the league's most dangerous one-on-one scorers in semi-transition with the paint clear:

He is roasting dudes several times per game. Isolation became a dirty word, but it can be the best method of attack if all four potential help defenders have to stick to shooters. (Antetokounmpo almost counts as a shooter when he doesn't have the ball; defenses aren't going to ignore the MVP co-favorite.) Why call up a screener -- and bring an extra defender to clutter driving lanes?

Bledsoe is shooting 72 percent in the restricted area. Mini-LeBron is finishing like Real LeBron. The Bucks have scored 1.14 points per possession when Bledsoe shoots out of a drive, or kicks to a teammate who launches right away -- seventh-highest among 164 players who have recorded at least 200 drives, per Second Spectrum. (Antetokounmpo is No. 1, at 1.17 points.)

Bledsoe doesn't score in Milwaukee like he did as the No. 1 guy in Phoenix, but this has been the best all-around season of his career. He should have made the All-Star team, and deserves major consideration for an All-Defense spot.

12. Josh Okogie, bully cutter

If Okogie can hit some baseline percentage of open 3s, he's going to be a useful rotation player for a long time. He has the makings of a Marcus Smart-style wing defender -- strong enough to guard up a position or two, but agile enough to evade screens and chase water bugs. That's rare.

He also cuts with unusual ferocity on offense:

We don't think of cuts as physical plays, but they can be. Jimmy Butler, longtime Timberwolf, draws fouls on cuts before he even catches the ball.

Okogie's victim here is D.J. Augustin, and that's instructive. Some opponents hide their weakest or smallest defenders on Okogie, and he will need to develop ways of exploiting his size advantage. This is one.

13. The heady game of Bryn Forbes

Forbes shouldn't start next season with the return of Dejounte Murray, but he has proven himself a canny hybrid guard -- more than a shooter. (He is that, though: 42 percent from deep on five attempts per game.)

Forbes is decisive blowing by defenders rushing to close out on him, and has a knack for tricky interior passes:

Forbes finds LaMarcus Aldridge even when the big fella isn't obviously open, and like a good quarterback, throws the ball to where only Aldridge can reach it.

He is one step ahead spotting subtle opportunities to attack, and exploits them before the defense realizes what's happening:

Tasty! Forbes sees his defender -- Tyus Jones -- slide over to take away the pass to DeMar DeRozan, leaving a void in the other direction. Problem: He has picked up his dribble. Solution: Use Aldridge for a slingshot give-and-go.

14. Good luck solving the mystery of Oklahoma City and Boston

The Thunder, mired in a hellish six-week scoring slump, feel dangerously thin again. Markieff Morris has done nothing, on either end. Billy Donovan's trust in Nerlens Noel wavers. Abdel Nader is down to 33 percent from deep. Terrance Ferguson has reached double figures in three of his past 19 games. Dennis Schroder, also at 33 percent from deep, might be the league's most feast-or-famine player. Patrick Patterson, Hamidou Diallo and Deonte Burton are mostly bench-bound. No one can shoot. There is an alarming amount of Raymond Felton happening.

It has become hard for Oklahoma City to win when any of their best players underperform.

Meanwhile, just when you are ready to wash your hands of Boston: The Aron Baynes/Al Horford duo has started destroying teams again; Horford has been near his apex for weeks, minus back-to-backs; Gordon Hayward is finding his legs. The Celtics' collective swagger returns when they play well, and that swagger helps them in the postseason.

Will it sustain through adversity? We will see soon. The playoffs begin in eight days.

LeBron James believes this offseason will be "critical" for himself and the Los Angeles Lakers after the franchise missed the postseason for the sixth consecutive year.

"I've never played fantasy basketball," James told Bleacher Report in a story published Wednesday. "But I will be as active as I need to be for this franchise to get better. That's why I came here. I came here to win. And obviously, we need to get better, as far as our personnel. We have an opportunity to get better. And there's a lot of talent out there and a lot of guys that can help our franchise. So I'll be as active as I need to be for us to get better and go from there."

With the playoffs out of the picture, the Lakers will enter into an offseason rife with speculation about the job security of coach Luke Walton as well as the construction of the roster. Seven of Los Angeles' 14 players are set to hit free agency.

"It's a critical summer for myself," James told Bleacher Report. "Obviously, the franchise is going to live forever. But for me personally, it's very critical, because I want to compete and I want to compete now."

James will again hit the recruiting trail in pursuit of finding talent to play alongside him in Los Angeles. He told ESPN's Rachel Nichols in December, prior to his and the Lakers' failed pursuit of New Orleans Pelicans star Anthony Davis at February's trade deadline, that he has always viewed recruiting as part of his role.

"I've always recruited," James told Nichols. "I've been trying to get guys to come play with me since, like, 2007. I've got rejected a lot. But I've also have not got rejected a lot."

James also told Bleacher Report that he believes in the Lakers' ability to land a key piece.

"So it's very critical to me and my future [for the Lakers to acquire another star this offseason]," James said. "And I'm positive and very optimistic that Magic [Johnson] and Rob [Pelinka] and the franchise will be great.

"They got me. I'm very confident. And I'm confident that players want to play with me. I'm very confident in that."

James, who missed a long stretch with a groin injury and will finish his first season with the Lakers having played a career-low 55 games, averaged 27.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 8.3 assists.

The Lakers had missed the playoffs only five times in the first 65 years of the franchise's existence prior to the current streak.

ESPN's Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.

Stephen Curry, one of the greatest 3-point shooters the NBA has ever seen, has boosted his accuracy in the past few weeks.

The Golden State Warriors star credits contact lenses.

"It's like the whole world has opened up," he told The Athletic.

Talking to reporters Thursday, Curry said he didn't have any eye disease, just blurry vision. He declined to say what his vision was before the contacts.

"I have blurry vision like millions of people across the country in terms of needing corrective lenses to see sharper," he said.

"You get used to what it looks like and you adjust."

He said his vision is now clearer and sharper.

"Like a camera lens when you put it in focus," Curry said, "sometimes when it's a degree off you can still see what the image is but it's not as sharp."

Curry, 31, has indeed found his shot anew in the past three weeks. A 43.6 percent shooter from 3-point range for his career and 43.8 this season, Curry has a 48.7 3-point percentage since March 16, when he started wearing contacts. He has also sunk five or more 3-pointers in nine straight games.

He said the difference was subtle.

"Yeah, it's noticeable," Curry said. "But if I played without them, it wouldn't be as good but I'd be all right. I'd be able to see my teammates and be able to throw them the ball and play basketball."

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LOS ANGELES -- Stephen Curry was only in his second season in the NBA the last time LeBron James didn't play in an NBA Finals. So with James missing the playoffs altogether for the first time since the 2004-05 season with the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated from contention, Curry and the Golden State Warriors will see something this postseason that the NBA hasn't experienced in 14 seasons.

"It's different, but what is it? [Eight] straight Finals he went to?" Curry said at the Warriors' morning shootaround before facing the Lakers for the final time this season. "I'm sure it's a different experience for him, for better or worse."

After facing James in the past four NBA Finals, Curry fully expects James to "regroup" with the Lakers for next season.

"Obviously the rest of the league continues to go, a lot of talent, a lot of great storylines, people chasing championships," Curry said. "But he's had an amazing run. Pretty sure he'll be able to reset for next year and regroup. It's just different [with James not in the postseason]."

Curry will not face James one final time this season, with the Lakers star shut down to let the groin injury he suffered on Christmas Day against the Warriors fully heal. But Curry will see his former assistant and current Lakers coach Luke Walton one more time. The Warriors star said that no matter what happens with Walton's future after this season, any team would be "lucky" to have him as its head coach.

"All the injuries they had and expectations coming in with obviously LeBron James joining your team, it goes through the roof," Curry said of the Lakers' disappointing season. "But everything is a process. This league is tough, man. It's hard to win basketball games no matter who you have on your team. I think that the way he's kept his presence on the sidelines, from watching games and watching his body language on the side, the way that they might not be winning games right now but the team is playing hard. ... I'm sure they appreciate his consistency.

"Honestly wish the best for him in terms of the future because who knows what will happen," Curry added. "But he's a great coach. Anybody would be lucky to have him leading the team."

PHILADELPHIA -- Milwaukee Bucks guard Eric Bledsoe was ejected less than three minutes into Thursday night's game against the Philadelphia 76ers after an aggressive game of catch with Sixers center Joel Embiid.

At the 2:36 mark of the first quarter, Embiid and Bledsoe got tangled up, and Embiid extricated himself from it with a little shove at Bledsoe. Taking offense to that, Bledsoe retaliated with a shove of his own into Embiid's back.

Embiid responded by casually tossing the ball at Bledsoe, who at this point was about 10 or 15 feet away. Bledsoe responded by whipping the ball right at Embiid's chest, hitting him square in the middle of it and bouncing away before he had a chance to react. The ball wound up landing next to Sixers forward Mike Scott, who proceeded to then throw it right at Embiid as players from both teams quickly converged around each other.

After a brief review, the officials gave their assessment: one technical foul each for Embiid and Scott, and two -- and, with it, an automatic ejection -- for Bledsoe.

As the partisan crowd cheered wildly at the news and Bledsoe walked off the court and back to Milwaukee's locker room, Embiid -- who was at the other end of the court, with his right hand above his head -- waved to Bledsoe as he walked away with his left.

Milwaukee entered Thursday night's game needing one win to clinch home-court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs, while Philadelphia's magic number to clinch the third seed in the East currently stands at two. A win Thursday, however, would mean Philadelphia can't finish lower than fourth.

The Philadelphia 76ers' bench depth took a hit Thursday, as the team announced that forward James Ennis III will miss at least two weeks with a quad contusion.

Ennis was hurt in Wednesday's loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

The two-week timetable means he will be out through at least the beginning of the first round of the playoffs.

Ennis is averaging 6.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 21.2 minutes per game this season and shooting 46.9 percent from the field.

The Sixers acquired the 28-year-old forward in a February trade with the Houston Rockets for a second-round draft pick.

Steven Smith has insisted Cameron Bancroft will prove a "good choice" as captain of Durham.

News that Bancroft, who like Smith has recently returned from suspension for his role in the Newlands ball-tampering episode, had been appointed ahead of the 2019 county season raised eyebrows in some quarters, with former England fast bowler Darren Gough labelling it "disgraceful."

But Smith feels Bancroft has shown "great character" in the manner he has returned to the game and will prove an astute choice for the role.

"Cam is a good choice for captain," Smith told ESPNcricinfo. "He's got a good head on his shoulders and has shown great character in the way he has come back after his time out.

"It has been a tough time for him no doubt, but he's a good guy who will do his best for Durham and will lead them well. He gets the game pretty well and has a good understanding of strategy and players.

"He's found a bit of form with the bat and will be able to use his experience in a positive way."

While Bancroft's role in the ball tampering episode appeared to be the source of Gough's displeasure, there is also some unquiet within the English game at the number of Australians gaining experience in county cricket ahead of the Ashes series.

Around 10 Australian players - not all of them realistic Ashes candidates - are likely to appear in County Championship cricket in the coming weeks which will only serve to reignite the debate over whether counties should be slightly less obliging to England's overseas opponents in such circumstances. In Durham's case, however, their director of cricket is the former Australia allrounder, Marcus North, who played with Bancroft at Western Australia.

"He is good mates with Marcus North from WA and he will know what Cam is all about," Smith, who seemed bemused about recent reports suggesting he could play county cricket this year, said. "They will work well together to get the best out of the team.

"It is obviously a shame that he is missing the first game with a prior commitment to WA, but I'm sure he is itching to get out there and show what he can do and give his best. County cricket is a great environment and Cam will make the most of his chance I'm sure to show what it means to him."

While Smith's recommendation of Bancroft is hardly surprising, he also had warm words for Rajasthan Royals team-mate Ben Stokes. While the relationship between England and Australia players had appeared to have soured by the time the last Ashes series ended, recent days have seen David Warner and Jonny Bairstow form an effective opening partnership for Sunrisers Hyderabad and now Smith and Stokes gelling well at the Royals. That has fuelled hopes the forthcoming Ashes series might be played in somewhat better spirit than the last.

"He's a great guy to have on your side," Smith said of Stokes. "He has amazing energy - he does everything at 100 miles an hour - and his fitness is fantastic. He's always in the game, whether with the bat, the ball or in the field, and he's the sort of guy who can lift a dressing room."

Smith and Warner are expected to be named in Australia's World Cup squad later this month which would mark their international returns following the year-long bans. They both underwent elbow surgery earlier this year and are using the IPL as a stepping stone to the World Cup. Warner has been in outstanding form with 264 runs in his first four matches while Smith has been more subdued with 86 runs in three innings.

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Hashim Amla will return to cricket with the Cape Cobras during Cricket South Africa's upcoming T20 Challenge, coach Ashwell Prince confirmed in Cape Town on Thursday. Prince also revealed that CSA were hoping Amla would be able to take up a short county stint in England to acclimatise ahead of the World Cup, but Amla wanted to stay in South Africa to be closer to his ailing father.

"He is available," Prince said at Newlands. "My understanding is that CSA would have preferred for him to be playing in the UK, but he wanted to be closer to home."

Cape Cobras will play five games in the domestic T20 tournament before South Africa's World Cup squad is named on 18 April, and their tournament opener against Lions at the Wanderers on Sunday will be Amla's first participation in competitive cricket since March 1. Amla last played for South Africa in the two Tests against Sri Lanka in February, and was granted compassionate leave from the one-day squad to be with his critically ill father.

The situation has improved a little but Amla, who turned 36 on March 31, is short of form and match practice ahead of the deadline for the announcement of South Africa's World Cup squad. His place in that squad is not settled, and CSA's selection convener Linda Zondi told Sport24 that the process of deciding upon that squad is giving him "sleepless nights".

Amla started this season in dreadful form, averaging just 10.14 with the bat with two ducks in seven innings for Durban Heat in the Mzansi Super League before turning things around somewhat with vital runs - including a 27th ODI hundred - during Pakistan's visit. After some time away from the game to be with his family, Amla returned to the nets in Durban this week and will be flying to Cape Town to join the Cobras squad ahead of their first game of the CSA T20 Challenge. Prince believes that the tournament could provide Amla with valuable time in the middle.

"I don't think extending an innings has ever been a problem for Hashim," Prince said. "It's about getting in. In the Mzansi Super League, he didn't manage that, which can happen after a long lay-off.

"I still think there is a place for somebody to bat through the innings, and he is well capable of doing that. If he bats through the innings at a 120/130 strike rate, it allows other more natural ball strikers to play their game around him. There is an opportunity for Hashim to bat through the innings and if he does that half the time, then I think he is getting enough batting."

Prince also confirmed that JP Duminy will not be available for the Cobras' first few games of the tournament as his rehabilitation from a shoulder injury that necessitated surgery and kept him out of action for most of the summer continues with strength and conditioning work as per CSA's wishes.

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