Cavs clinch Central, wrap up No. 2 seed

NBA: Kyrie Irving scored 27 points and the Cleveland Cavaliers held on to beat the Milwaukee Bucks 104-99 on Wednesday night in Milwaukee, clinching the Central Division title and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

LeBron James scored 21 points with nine rebounds and eight assists for the Cavs, including 10 points in the fourth quarter. Kevin Love added 16 points and 11 rebounds.

Michael Carter-Williams scored 30 points for the Bucks.

• Pacers remain in hunt: The Indiana Pacers stayed close to the final Eastern Conference playoff spot when they defeated the New York Knicks 102-86 in New York.

George Hill led the Pacers with 20 points. The win tied the Pacers with the Miami Heat, one game off the final playoff spot behind the Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets.

• Celtics eliminate Pistons: Former Washington Huskies star Isaiah Thomas had a season-high 34 points as the Boston Celtics picked up a key victory and eliminated Detroit from playoff contention, beating the Pistons 113-103 in Auburn Hills, Michigan.

The victory kept Boston in the Eastern Conference’s eighth spot.

• Spurs win ninth straight: Tony Parker scored 27 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat the Houston Rockets 110-98 in San Antonio for their ninth straight victory.

The Spurs moved within a half-game of the Southwest Division lead shared by Houston and Memphis.

• Mavericks boot Suns: Dirk Nowitzki scored 19 points, including the go-ahead basket and a key 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, and Dallas beat Phoenix in Dallas, eliminating the Suns from playoff contention.

• Aldridge sparks Blazers: LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 13 rebounds before sitting out the fourth quarter, and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Minnesota Timber- wolves 116-91 in Portland.

Holtby continues to master Bruins

NHL: Braden Holtby made 27 saves while shutting out the Boston Bruins for the third time this season, Marcus Johansson had a goal and an assist and the Washington Capitals defeated the Bruins 3-0 in Washington.

Holtby earned his 41st win of the season to match the franchise record set by Olie Kolzig in 1999-2000.

Washington leads the Islanders by three points for second place in the Metropolitan Division and home ice in the first round of the playoffs.

Boston, which had won five straight, still holds second wild card in the Eastern Conference with 95 points.

• Blue Jackets rout Maple Leafs: Scott Hartnell had a goal and an assist and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 35 shots for his second shutout of the season to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 5-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Columbus, Ohio.

Toronto has the fewest road wins (eight) of any team.

Bubka campaigns for IAAF presidency

Miscellany: Sergei Bubka released his campaign platform in his bid for the IAAF presidency, saying he would fight doping, find more big-money sponsors and bring modern technology into the sport to attract spectators and young people.

The 51-year-old Ukrainian pole vault great also said, if elected, he would hire a CEO, set up a business commission of marketing and broadcast experts and work with the IOC to protect track and field’s status as the No. 1 Olympic sport.

• CFL implements extra-point changes: Kicking the extra point is about to become a little more challenging in the Canadian Football League.

Conversions will be pushed back 20 yards after the league approved a series of significant rule changes. Extra points will now be kicked from the 32-yard line instead of the 12.

Going for the two-point conversion could become less challenging, though – and more attractive. That try will come from the 3 instead of the 5.

• American Davis beats top seed: American Lauren Davis beat top-seeded Eugenie Bouchard 6-3, 6-1 at the Family Circle Cup in Charleston, South Carolina, a short time after No. 2 seed Ekaterina Makarova withdrew with a stomach illness.

The 21-year-old Davis had lost the only career meeting with Bouchard but was in control much of the way against the world’s seventh-ranked player. Davis won nine of the final 11 games of the match and broke Bouchard’s serve twice in the final set to pull off the upset.