Milwaukee Bucks (53-29) vs. Brooklyn Nets (55-28)
June 19, 2021 8:30 pm EDT
The Line: Brooklyn Nets -1 ; Over/Under: -216.5
(Get latest betting odds)
The Milwaukee Bucks will be looking to finish off the Brooklyn Nets in Game 7 at the Barclays Center on Saturday night.
The Milwaukee Bucks were faced with a must-win game on Thursday, and they finished with flying colours after routing the Nets in a 104-89 home win in Game 6. Khris Middleton led the team in scoring with 38 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and five steals, Giannis Antetokounmpo racked up 30 points with 17 rebounds and three assists while Jrue Holiday chipped in with 21 points, eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. No other player finished in double figures and the Bucks shot just 45 percent from the field and seven of 33 from the 3-point line, but their defense was on point as they were always in control after holding the Nets to just 19 points in the first quarter to take the early double-digit lead.
Meanwhile, the Brooklyn Nets are now faced with their biggest game of the season after a cold-shooting performance cost them a chance to end the series in Game 6. Kevin Durant led the team in scoring with 32 points, 11 rebounds and three assists on 15 of 30 shooting, James Harden added just 16 points with seven assists and four steals while Blake Griffin chipped in with just 12 points, but no other player finished in double figures in scoring. As a team, the Nets shot just 44 percent from the field and nine of 30 from the 3-point line as they just didn’t provide Durant nearly enough support to hang with the desperate Bucks. Jeff Green scored just five points on two of nine shooting while no bench player scored more than four points. Durant was the only player to really find his shot with consistency, but he also committed seven turnovers which was why they fell into the early hole.
Looking at the betting trends, the Bucks are 2-6 ATS in their last eight road games, 7-16 ATS in their last 23 games against a team above .600 and 4-10 ATS in their last 14 games overall. The Nets are 14-3 ATS in their last 17 home games, 5-2 ATS in their last seven games against a team with a winning record and 13-3 ATS in their last 16 games overall.
Head to head, the under is 7-0-1 in the last eight meetings overall, the Bucks are 0-4 ATS in the last four meetings in Brooklyn and the Bucks are 31-15-1 ATS in the last 47 meetings overall.
The Bucks needed to come out fighting with their backs against the wall in Game 6 and they were able to do that rather comfortably by setting the tone defensively. Durant was still able to get almost anything he wanted on offense for himself, but he’s going to need more from Griffin, Harris and Green, especially with Harden reluctant to reaggravate his lingering hamstring injury. You can make an argument for either side here, but the stage is set for Durant to have another massive scoring night and I’m backing the role players to perform better in front of the home crowd. Give me the Nets in a thriller.
