Game: Milwaukee Bucks @ Brooklyn Nets
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Odds: Bucks +2, Nets -2
Total: 243
Tonight’s game in Brooklyn should have a playoff feel to it as the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks take on the Nets. The game will also feature Kyrie Irving back in the lineup. The Nets guard will play for the third time at home since the city lifted its vaccination mandate. In his two previous home games, Irving averaged 20 points and 7.5 assists.
The Nets have won four of their last six games and eight of 11. They beat Detroit on Tuesday night 130-123 as Kevin Durant scored 41 points and had 11 rebounds. Five other Nets scored in double figures. Brooklyn is averaging 121.2 points per game over its last ten.
Milwaukee has been lighting up the scoreboard as well, which is why tonight’s total is set at 243. The Bucks are fourth in the NBA in scoring averaging 114.9 points per game. Over their last ten games, Milwaukee is averaging 120.6 points a game. In their last game, a 118-116 win over Philadelphia, Giannis Antetokounmpo went off for 40 points and 14 rebounds. He also blocked a Joel Embiid shot in the final seconds to secure the win.
Antetokounmpo is making a move in the NBA MVP race. In his last eight games, the former two-time MVP is averaging 34.3 points and 11.8 rebounds. He is a big reason why the Bucks are scoring over 120 per game recently. The Bucks are one-game behind Miami in the Eastern Conference race. Regardless of where they end up, Milwaukee will be in a great position to defend its NBA title.
The Nets are doing their best to get out of the play-in tournament. Currently, Brooklyn is in eighth place in the East. They are two games behind seventh-place Cleveland and four games behind Toronto in sixth. The Nets have five games left after tonight and all are very winnable games (Atlanta, Houston, New York, Cleveland, and Indiana).
As good as Brooklyn has been lately, they haven’t done all that well against the number. They haven’t done that well against Milwaukee either. In their last 20 games at home, Brooklyn is 4-16 ATS. In the last 14 games against Milwaukee at home, the Nets have won outright just four times. Brooklyn is just 2-4 ATS in its last six games overall.
The Bucks, on the other hand, are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games and they are 11-3 SU in their last 14. Milwaukee has won four of the last five games against the Nets and they are 4-1 ATS in those games.
With the Bucks facing some big numbers recently, six of their last nine games have gone Under the posted total. In this series, the Under has hit in nine of the last 12 games. Milwaukee has won two of the three games this year. Two of the three have gone Under and the two teams have averaged a combined 236.7 points per game in those three games.