Milwaukee Bucks (52-28) vs. Brooklyn Nets (54-27)
June 15, 2021 8:30 pm EDT
The Line: Brooklyn Nets +3; Over/Under: -223.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Milwaukee Bucks travel to the Barclays Center to take on the Brooklyn Nets in a pivotal Game 5 on Tuesday night.
The Milwaukee Bucks had a rough start to the series, but they will be growing in confidence after squaring up the series with a 107-96 home win over the Nets in Game 4 on Sunday. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the team with 34 points, 12 rebounds and three assists on 14 of 26 shooting, Khris Middleton added 19 points with eight assists, two steals and two blocks while Jrue Holiday chipped in with 14 points and nine assists. As a team, the Bucks shot 44 percent from the field and 16 of 47 from the 3-point line, but this win was all about their defense as they held the Nets to just 22 points in the second quarter to take the narrow lead into halftime, before holding the Nets to just 21 points in the third quarter where they pushed the margin out to 19 points.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets will be hoping to bounce back in a big way after getting routed by the Bucks on Sunday night. Kevin Durant led the team in scoring with 28 points, 13 rebounds and five assists on nine of 25 shooting, while Kyrie Irving scored 11 points before leaving the game with an ankle sprain, but no other player finished in double figures in scoring. As a team, the Nets shot just 43 percent from the field and 10 of 33 from the 3-point line as they got off to a quick start to take the early lead, before losing all momentum in the game once Irving left the game with that ankle injury. Blake Griffin, Jeff Green and Joe Harris scored eight points apiece while Bruce Brown chipped in with just seven points.
Looking at the betting trends, the Bucks are 2-5 ATS in their last seven road games, 6-1 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record and 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games overall. The Nets are 4-1 ATS in their last five games against a team with a winning record, 13-3 ATS in their last 16 home games and 20-8 ATS in their last 28 games overall.
Head to head, the under is 6-0 in the last six meetings overall, the Bucks are 30-14-1 ATS in the last 45 meetings overall and the Bucks are 16-5-1 ATS in the last 22 meetings in Brooklyn.
The Nets look destined for an easy path to the Eastern Conference Finals after dominating the first two games of the series, but they’re suddenly in danger of falling behind in the series after dropping their last two games. The Bucks haven’t quite been at their best lately, but they’ve been good enough to take advantage of a Nets team dealing with injuries to James Harden and now Kyrie Irving. Assuming Harden and Irving remain out, the Nets will have to rely heavily on Kevin Durant who struggled to carry the scoring load on Sunday. I wouldn’t be shocked if Durant dropped 50 and carried the Nets in this spot, but I’m sticking with the Bucks to take advantage once again and take the series lead with a narrow win and cover here.
