Jayson Tatum would not be drawn on talk that the Boston Celtics are the new NBA title favourites after clinching their first-round playoffs series against the Atlanta Hawks with Thursday's 118-110 win.

The Celtics clinched the series 4-2, setting up a date in the Eastern Conference Semifinals with the Philadelphia 76ers who swept the Brooklyn Nets 4-0.

The shock exit of the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks, who boasted the league's best regular-season record at 58-24, to the Miami Heat has opened up the playoffs.

Boston made last year's NBA Finals and finished second in this regular season in the East behind the Bucks with the second-best record in the NBA at 57-25.

"Not looking past nobody," Tatum told reporters when asked about the Celtics being title favourites. "Taking it one game, one series at a time.

"We just had six tough games against the Hawks. Closed it out tonight, now it's time to get some rest and get ready for Philly.

"Not looking past them. It's going to be tough. They've had some time off. It starts with Game 1."

The 76ers benefitted from their sweep, having closed that series out on Sunday, allowing time for MVP candidate Joel Embiid to rest a sprained knee that kept him out of Game 4 against the Nets. The 76ers-Celtics series is due to commence on Monday.

Jaylen Brown, who scored 32 points against the Hawks in Game 6 alongside Tatum's 30, expected a tough test against their old rivals.

"We know they're going to bring the fight," he said. "Philly is a tough environment to win. Their crowd gets involved in the game. It's going to be fun.

"We already know they've got some great players, Joel Embiid, James Harden and company. It's going to be a test again. We've got to be ready to fight and I can't wait for it."

The Celtics were pushed all the way by the Hawks in not only Game 6, but the whole series. Boston needed a final-quarter 11-0 run, which Brown called "winning time", to pull away and punch their ticket into the next round.

"Winning time, I guess," Brown said. "Adrenaline, just that will and perseverance to finish the game. It was close and both teams was exchanging blows, we were both tired.

"And we didn't want to be the team going back home with an 'L.' So we just found a way to win."

Meanwhile, Hawks guard Trae Young was enthused by his side's end to their season after Nate McMillan was axed in February, before an admirable recovery under new coach Quin Snyder.

"Quin is the future," Young said. "I believe with him here, this city's going to win a championship."

Promotion and relegation is on the line as most EFL clubs play their penultimate matches of the season over the bank holiday weekend.

The automatic promotion places in the Sky Bet Championship are set in stone but with other issues at stake across all three divisions, the PA news agency looks at the state of play.

Championship

Burnley are champions and Sheffield United clinched promotion on Wednesday night.

Luton and Middlesbrough are guaranteed play-off places. Coventry can join them with a game to spare if they beat Birmingham and several other results go their way, but the immediate interest is at the bottom of the table.

Wigan play fellow strugglers Reading away on Saturday and will be relegated if they lose. If they draw, they need Huddersfield to lose at Cardiff on Sunday while if the Latics win they would need the Terriers to drop points or Rotherham to lose on Monday.

Blackpool, just a point better off than the Latics, must beat Millwall on Friday or match Huddersfield’s result and hope Reading do not win.

Reading can go down this weekend if they lose, Huddersfield win and Rotherham pick up a point. QPR can clinch survival with a victory, as can Rotherham as long as Reading and Huddersfield do not also win. Cardiff only need a point to guarantee their Championship future.

League One

Plymouth and Ipswich have the chance to clinch promotion with wins at home to Burton and Exeter respectively, or by matching third-placed Sheffield Wednesday’s result at Shrewsbury.

Argyle will be crowned champions if they win and Town lose, and are up unless Wednesday win and they do not.

Wednesday are guaranteed a play-off place at least. Barnsley are in the play-offs and Bolton and Derby can both join them if they win and Peterborough do not.

Morecambe and Accrington could be relegated if they lose to Lincoln and Cambridge respectively, MK Dons beat Barnsley and Oxford get a point against relegated Forest Green. Even draws would not be enough if Oxford and MK both win.

Cambridge are second-bottom but have a game in hand, meaning their fate cannot be confirmed until Wednesday at the earliest.

League Two

Northampton and Stevenage have the opportunity on Saturday to clinch promotion alongside champions Leyton Orient.

Victories for either, against Bradford and Grimsby respectively, would make sure – otherwise, they would need none of Stockport, Carlisle and Bradford to win. Boro must match that trio’s results but Northampton would be promoted instantly if the chasing pack all drop points.

Stockport and Carlisle can clinch play-off places if they better either Salford or Mansfield’s results.

Hartlepool will be relegated unless they win both their remaining games and Crawley lose both of theirs, with a six-goal swing in Pools’ favour.

What the papers say

Former Bayern Munich manager Julian Nagelsmann is “at the top” of Tottenham’s four-man shortlist to be their next head coach, the Daily Telegraph says. However, the 35-year-old, who was sacked by the German giants on March 23, has no termination clause in his contract so is continuing to be paid his €12 million (£10.6 million) annual salary. Nagelsmann has more than three years left on the five-year deal he signed.

The same paper reports Arsenal are intending to step up their transfer planning after guaranteeing their place in next season’s Champions League, with West Ham midfielder Declan Rice high on the list of targets. The 24-year-old is reported to be wanted by the Gunners this summer as they look to add more dynamism and technical quality in the centre of the pitch.

Elsewhere, Joao Felix is looking set to stay at Chelsea for another year even though the club will not be playing in the Champions League, The Sun writes. The 23-year-old forward reportedly wants assurances from the incoming permanent boss – expected to be Mauricio Pochettino – that he will get game time.

The Sun also reports – via RMC Sport – that Manchester United are preparing a bid for Monaco right-back Vanderson. The 21-year-old has impressed since joining the Ligue 1 side in January last year and the Red Devils could face competition from several other Premier League sides.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Jude Bellingham: Spanish outlet Marca reports Real Madrid officials will travel to Germany this week in a bid to convince the 19-year-old Borussia Dortmund and England midfielder to join the Spanish club this summer.

Casemiro: German outlet Marca says the 31-year-old Manchester United and Brazil midfielder is a summer transfer target for Thomas Tuchel at Bayern Munich.

New York Rangers coach Gerrard Gallant had no complaints with his side's effort in their 4-0 Game 5 loss to the New Jersey Devils who he said "played their best game of the series".

The Devils have flipped the script in their Stanley Cup first-round series after trailing 2-0 following back-to-back losses in Newark, taking a 3-2 lead with Thursday's triumph at Prudential Center.

Gallant blasted his side after their 3-1 home loss in Game 4 where they surrendered their advantage in the series, but he conceded the Devils were just too good on Thursday led by Erik Haula with two goals and an assist.

"I got no problem with their effort tonight. They competed," Gallant told reporters.

"Jersey played a hell of a game. You've got to give them a lot of credit. They played their best game in the series I thought tonight."

The defeat leaves the Rangers in danger of elimination on their home ice in Game 6. The Rangers rallied back from a 3-1 first-round series deficit last year against the Pittsburgh Penguins as well as when trailing 3-2 in the second round against the Carolina Hurricanes offering Gallant hope.

"The effort is there, we've been in this position before," he said. "We'll see what we can do, go back home on Saturday and rally the troops and get it going."

Rangers winger Chris Kreider also reflected on last year's playoffs after the game, demanding a response from his team.

"We've had a terrific fan base all year. We let them down, we let ourselves down at home," he said. "So it's up to us to show up and play the way we want to play from puck drop.

"All the cliches and euphemisms I throw at you guys all year, it's time to step up and do those things, right? It's time to play for a full 60 minutes. It's time to win a hockey game."

Beyond Haula's outstanding display, Devils goaltender Akira Schmid stopped 23 shots and Dawson Mercer had a goal and an assist. New Jersey captain Nico Hischier praised their approach.

"Tonight we did a lot of good things and that's exactly how we got to play," Hischier said.

"We knew if we use our speed, that's our strength. That's what makes us a dangerous team — if we play with our speed."

Game 6 is on Saturday at Madison Square Garden.

Will Levis was expected to hear his name called on day one of the 2023 NFL Draft. That did not happen as both he and Hendon Hooker missed out on being taken as first-round quarterbacks.

Kentucky star Levis had been in the conversation to potentially go as high as the second overall pick, but will now need to decide if he wants to continue waiting in the green room on day two.

Levis battled injuries in his second and final season at Kentucky but, with an extremely strong arm and the athleticism to make plays with his legs, he entered the draft seemingly firmly in the top-10 mix.

Yet no team was even willing to take him in the top 31 picks, a surprising turn of events even considering Levis' often inconsistent deep accuracy and his struggles when his process was sped up.

Hooker was seen as more of a fringe first-rounder despite helping Tennessee lead the FBS in points and yards per game in 2022.

He suffered an ACL tear in November but has made good progress in his recovery and this week posted a video on Twitter of him dropping back to pass for the first time since his injury.

Despite Hooker's encouraging recovery, the NFL did not deem him worthy of a day-one selection, the pre-draft conversation around the 25-year-old the Virginia Tech transfer having been dominated by discussion about his age compared to his quarterback contemporaries in the class and the offense he played in at Tennessee, which asks players to do very little of what they will be tasked with at the highest level.

Both Levis and Hooker will be anticipated to go early on day two and eyebrows will be raised if their respective waits go on much longer.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba was the first wide receiver off the board in the 2023 NFL Draft, getting the chance to join a formidable group at the position with the Seattle Seahawks and prompting on a run on picks at the position.

Five wide receivers had gone in the top 10 over the course of the previous two drafts, but it wasn't until pick number 20 that the Seahawks finally selected Smith-Njigba.

He links up with a receiver group that already features two Pro Bowlers in D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, giving more ammunition to quarterback Geno Smith.

Smith-Njigba missed all but three games for Ohio State last season owing to a hamstring injury.

However, he was outstanding in 2021, racking up 1,606 receiving yards and nine touchdowns, his success coming in large part through his tremendously smooth route-running, excellent ball tracking skills and elusiveness after the catch.

The Seahawks, who earlier took cornerback Devon Witherspoon fifth overall, will look for Smith-Njigba to help lift them to the top of the NFC West. Seattle reached the playoffs last season with a 9-8 record, finishing second in their division to the San Francisco 49ers, whom they lost to in the Wild Card round.

Another wide receiver went with the next pick after Smith-Njigba as the Los Angeles Chargers selected TCU star Quentin Johnston and the run continued as the Baltimore Ravens took Zay Flowers from Boston College on the day that saw them finally agree to terms on a new deal with former MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson.

USC's Jordan Addison, maligned by many because of his 5ft 11in and 178-pound frame, was the next to go off the board as the Minnesota Vikings put those concerns to one side, betting on his route-running prowess and yards after catch upside.

The Tampa Bay Rays re-discovered their free-scoring ways as Isaac Paredes managed a career-high five RBIs in a 14-5 victory over the slumping Chicago White Sox on Thursday.

The Sox fall to their eighth straight loss, even with Dylan Cease on the mound, pounded for seven runs from nine hits across four innings, with only three strikeouts.

Paredes started it off with a second-inning RBI single, grounded out to third to score Randy Arozarena in the fifth, before a three-run double in the sixth opened up an 11-2 lead.

Brandon Lowe maintained his excellent early season hitting with a 358-foot third inning homer along with a two-run single in the fifth. Lowe's solo shot took his season tally to seven homers.

Shane McClanahan (5-0) allowed two runs and struck out five across five innings, while Luke Raley went three-for-five with three RBIs including a ninth-inning homer, and moved from the outfield to the mound in the ninth.

The Rays, who started the season 13-0, had been beaten and shut out in consecutive games by the Houston Astros, 1-0 and 5-0 on Wednesday and Tuesday respectively.

Tampa Bay delivered 16 hits for the game and ended their scoreless run at 20 innings.

Ohtani's mixed game as Angels edge home

Shohei Ohtani responded after a shaky start on the mound to lead the Los Angeles Angels past the Oakland Athletics 8-7.

Ohtani (4-0) earned the win, although he gave up five runs in a rough fourth inning, with three-run blasts to Brent Rooker and a two-run homer to Shea Langeliers. He had thrown three perfect innings to that point and finished with eight strikeouts, allowing three hits across six innings.

The Japanese two-way star went three-for-five with the bat, including a triple, double and single, scoring two runs, with an eighth-inning shot caught by Esteury Ruiz on the warning track in center field.

Brandon Drury delivered a 409-foot three-run home run over left-center field in the first inning, with Ohtani scoring after his prior double.

Keller fans 10 as Pirates continue fine form

Mitch Keller matched his career-high 10 strikeouts as the Pittsburgh Pirates downed the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2.

Keller improved to 3-0, giving up two runs on five hits across six innings, as the Pirates continued their excellent run having won nine of their past 10, moving to an 18-8 record.

Pittsburgh rallied from an early 2-0 deficit, with three runs at the bottom of the first inning, before Connor Joe's two-run blast followed by Rodolfo Castro's 414-foot homer in the sixth.

In an NFL draft full of early surprises and trades, the Detroit Lions turned some heads Thursday by trading down in the first round and selecting Alabama running back Jahmyr Gibbs with the number 12 pick.

The Lions chose to double down on a team strength as Gibbs lands in a run-focused offense under coach Dan Campbell and joins a backfield that already features D’Andre Swift and former Chicago Bear David Montgomery.

Gibbs was the second running back taken Thursday after Texas' Bijan Robinson went to the Atlanta Falcons in the number eight slot.

The last time two running backs were selected that high in the draft was in 2017, when Leonard Fournette and Christian McCaffrey were both taken in the draft’s first eight picks.

Gibbs began his college career with two seasons at Georgia Tech but broke out as a big-play threat for Alabama in 2022. His draft stock rose after the scouting combine, where he ran the 40-yard dash in 4.36 seconds.

At 5-foot-9 and 199 pounds, Gibbs will likely continue to split time in the backfield after having only 383 total carries in three college seasons.

Detroit started the night with the number six pick – acquired from the Los Angeles Rams in the Matthew Stafford trade – and their own number 18 pick. They continued to defy conventional positional value with pick 18, selecting off-ball linebacker Jack Campbell out of Iowa.

The Philadelphia 76ers are still not declaring Joel Embiid will be available for Game 1 of their Conference Semifinals starting on Monday due to a sprained right knee.

Embiid missed Game 4 on Saturday as the 76ers completed a 4-0 sweep of the Brooklyn Nets, offering the MVP candidate an opportunity for rest ahead of their next series against either the Boston Celtics or the Atlanta Hawks.

The 76ers center is yet to practice ahead of Game 1 and head coach Doc Rivers said he was undergoing doctor's examination on Thursday.

"I'm just going to wait," Rivers told reporters after Thursday's team practice. "They'll call me later and we'll see where he's at."

Embiid appeared banged up during Game 3 against the Nets, taking a series of falls, before missing Game 4 which the 76ers won 96-88.

Trae Young's game-winning three-pointer clinched Atlanta's 119-117 win on Tuesday, extending the Hawks-Celtics series to a sixth game, allowing the 76ers more time to recover after their sweep.

That Conference Semifinals series would have started on Saturday if it had concluded on Tuesday, with Rivers offering an insight into Embiid's status when asked about that factor.

"If we played on Saturday, I don't know how realistic it would have been, so that's a good thing," Rivers said.

The 76ers went 11-5 in Embiid's absence during the regular season, providing Rivers hope that they could triumph without him.

"Just look at our record all year," Rivers said. "Look at our record last year and the year before. Each year we’ve gotten better when guys are injured.

"Last year we were better. This year, we were way better. That's what gives me confidence."

Embiid averaged a league-high 33.1 points across 66 games in the regular season but was down at 20.0 points during the first round series.

He also averaged 10.2 rebounds and matched a career-high 4.2 assists per game during the regular season.

Bijan Robinson did not have to wait long to have a team take a chance on him in the 2023 NFL Draft, as he was selected eighth overall by the Atlanta Falcons.

First-round running backs have grown increasingly rare in recent years, with the days of the position being viewed as a premium one long gone.

But Robinson's talent is such that he has long since been seen as an exception to the rule, and the Falcons made him the first top-10 running back since Saquon Barkley went second overall to the New York Giants in 2018.

There can be little doubt he has earned his selection with such a high pick.

Robinson racked up 1,580 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground in his final season with Texas in 2022. On top of that, he had 314 receiving yards and two further scores through the air. His 1,894 yards from scrimmage were second most in the FBS.

As a runner, Robinson wins with his scarcely believable change of direction quickness that allows him to evade defenders almost at will, along with contact balance to slip through tackles and field-flipping speed.

His X-factor is what he can do as a receiver. Robinson runs routes like a wideout and has shown the ability to go up and make outstanding grabs and the catch point.

Robinson can be a substantial weapon from anywhere in the offensive formation and, by adding him to a backfield that already included Tyler Allgeier - who went for over 1,000 yards in his rookie season -- the Falcons now arguably have one of the most dynamic running back rooms in the NFL.

The Philadelphia Eagles gave up a 2024 fourth-round pick to move up one spot from 10th to ninth overall, selecting Georgia's standout defensive lineman Jalen Carter.

Carter, 22, led a historically great Bulldogs defense to consecutive National Championships in 2021 and 2022, earning unanimous selection as an All-American as a junior this past season.

He finished his three-year career at Georgia with 83 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss and six sacks in 35 total games, and has been called arguably the most talented defensive tackle prospect since Aaron Donald.

Viewed as one of the draft's premier talents, his stock took a tumble after he was involved in a street race that resulted in the death of his Georgia team-mate Devin Willock in January.

Carter pleaded no contest to a misdemeanour and will face no jail time, although it was enough to cross his name off some teams' boards atop the draft.

The trade saw the Chicago Bears move back one spot to 10 after their anticipated pick Paris Johnson Jr was taken by the Arizona Cardinals at six, and they stayed with their plan to take an offensive lineman, selecting Darnell Wright.

The Houston Texans have struggled to find an identity since the departure of Deshaun Watson. On Thursday, the franchise's rebuilding effort got a new face on each side of the ball.

With the second overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, the Texans selected Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud.

In a stunning move, the Texans then acquired the third overall selection from the Arizona Cardinals to draft pass-rushing linebacker Will Anderson Jr. out of Alabama.

In return, the Cardinals received the 12th overall pick, as well as the number 33 pick in the second round, and a first- and third-round pick in 2024.

Houston is the first team with two of the top three picks in a single draft since Washington back in 2000.

The Texans' picks came after the Panthers drafted Alabama quarterback Bryce Young with the top overall pick, acquired from the Chicago Bears.

Stroud was a two-year starter for the Buckeyes, tallying 85 touchdown passes to just 12 interceptions. He was a 2022 Heisman Trophy finalist and cemented himself as a top-tier pro prospect by throwing for 348 yards and four touchdowns in a College Football Playoff loss against Georgia – the eventual national champions.

At six-foot-three and 214 pounds, he projects as a traditional pocket-based quarterback who has been hesitant to create opportunities with his legs.

Anderson led the Alabama defense for three seasons, making 34.5 sacks in 41 career games. After landing on the All-SEC Freshman Team in 2020, Anderson followed with 17.5 sacks in a decorated sophomore season.

Anderson lacks the elite size and athleticism of the very best pass-rushers, but he was consistently disruptive over an impressive career at Alabama.