Bucks coach Doc Rivers continues to express hope that Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard can return from injuries before the end of their Eastern Conference first-round series with the Pacers.

The Bucks played without their top two players once again and kept their season alive with a 115-92 Game 5 victory Tuesday night in Milwaukee. Rivers was asked afterward about the potential availability of Antetokounmpo and Lillard for the rest of the series.

“I don’t know how to answer that,” Rivers said. “I know I hope. I think they’re very, very, very close.”

Antetokounmpo is dealing with a strained left calf that has kept him out for the entire series. Lillard injured his Achilles tendon during the Bucks’ 121-118 Game 3 loss on Friday.

The third-seeded Bucks survived a must-win game without them Tuesday. The sixth-seeded Pacers still lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 heading into Thursday’s Game 6 in Indianapolis.

Milwaukee has managed to avoid elimination thanks largely to Khris Middleton, who has scored at least 25 points in each of the Bucks’ last three games despite dealing with a sprained right ankle.

Middleton scored 42 points in a Game 3 OT loss and had 25 more when the Bucks fell in Game 4. He followed that up with 29 points, 12 rebounds and five assists Tuesday.

“He gave us everything tonight,” Rivers said.

Other Bucks also stepped up Tuesday. Bobby Portis bounced back from a Game 4 ejection to collect 29 points and 10 rebounds. Patrick Beverley overcame a strained right oblique and had 13 points and 12 assists. Pat Connaughton had his best game of the series with nine points and four assists.

They’re hoping they kept this series going long enough for Antetokounmpo and Lillard to return.

Maxey keeps 76ers alive: All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey saved the 76ers from elimination with seven points in the final 25 seconds of regulation, finished with 46 and led his team to a 112-106 OT victory over the second-seeded Knicks in Game 5 of their East series on Tuesday in New York.

The seventh-seeded 76ers trailed by six points with 28 seconds remaining in regulation before Maxey pulled out a comeback that evoked memories of Reggie Miller’s eights points in nine seconds for the Pacers at Madison Square Garden in 1995.

Maxey converted a four-point play with 25 seconds remaining to cut it to two, and after Josh Hart’s free throw, pulled up from 35 feet to tie it at 97 with 8.1 seconds left.

The Knicks still lead the series 3-2.

Cavs take 3-2 lead: Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points, Evan Mobley blocked Franz Wagner’s layup in the final seconds and the fourth-seeded Cavaliers survived a scare, holding off Paolo Banchero and the fifth-seeded Magic 104-103 in Game 5 of their East series on Tuesday in Cleveland.

The Cavs lead the series 3-2.

Playing in just his fifth postseason game, the 21-year-old Banchero had 39 points and looked like a savvy veteran. He scored 16 in the fourth.