Portland Trail Blazers (11-22) vs. Milwaukee Bucks (18-15)
January 4, 2025 8:00 pm EDT
The Line: Milwaukee Bucks -12.5; Over/Under: +228
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The Portland Trail Blazers and the Milwaukee Bucks duke it out at the Fiserv Forum on Saturday night.
Portland Trail Blazers
The Portland Trail Blazers have been doing it tough as they’ve lost 10 of their last 13 games overall and they will be hoping to avoid a third straight defeat after getting stopped by the Lakers in a 114-106 road defeat on Thursday. Anfernee Simons led the team with 23 points and five assists, Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe scored 19 points each while Tounami Camara chipped in with 18 points.
As a team, the Trail Blazers shot 50 percent from the field and nine of 26 from the 3-point line as they showed plenty of fight to hang around within striking distance for the entire game, but they just couldn’t stop the Lakers’ Lebron James down the stretch which was the difference in a relatively competitive contest.
Milwaukee Bucks
Meanwhile, the Milwaukee Bucks have cooled off a bit recently as they’ve lost three of their past four games overall and they will be hoping to bounce back after getting beaten by the Nets in a 113-110 loss on Thursday. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the team with 27 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists, Damian Lillard added 23 points with seven assists while Bobby Portis chipped in with 15 points off the bench.
As a team, the Bucks shot 44 percent from the field and 11 of 37 from the 3-point line, as they struggled to find their offensive flow early on and quickly, found themselves trailing by 24 points before they rallied in the second half to cut the deficit to just one point with 37 seconds remaining. The Bucks will take on the Raptors and Spurs after this game.
Portland v Milwaukee free prediction
The Trail Blazers are still missing players with Matisse Thybulle and Jerami Grant still out, while the Bucks are expecting to have a full squad for this one with no one listed on the injury report. The Trail Blazers showed plenty of fight in their narrow loss to the Lakers on Thursday, but they’ve been in poor form overall and it’s no surprise that they are underdogs in this spot. The Bucks haven’t been at their best lately, but they are back to full health and I think they start to turn things around with an easy win and cover at home in this one.
