The Indiana Pacers will be at the BMO Harris Bradley Center to play a division foe in the Milwaukee Bucks. The game gets underway at 8:00 pm ET on Thursday, Mar. 26 and will air on FSN-IN and FSN-WI.
The Bucks won a close one over the Heat 89-88 on Tuesday. Zaza Pachulia fueled the Bucks, recording 14 points and 11 rebounds to notch his 13th double-double this season. The Pacers, meanwhile, are coming off a 110-100 loss to the Rockets on Monday. C.J. Watson had a good shooting night, leading the team with 23 points.
Over the last five games, Pachulia has really been playing well for the Bucks. During that stretch, he has averaged 13.6 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.0 steals.
The Pacers have won two out of three against the Bucks this season, including a 109-103 victory in their last matchup. Despite the loss, Michael Carter-Williams was the game’s leading scorer with 28 points.
The odds are even for this game and the Over/Under (O/U) is currently unavailable. The Bucks enter the game with records of 35-36 Straight Up (SU) and 40-30-1 Against The Spread (ATS). Even though they have performed well enough to earn a 8-5 ATS record against their division, they’ve only managed a SU record of 5-8. Teams routinely struggle to score points against the Bucks, who allow only 95.8 points per home game. Opposing offenses have been stifled by the Bucks, who allow a field goal percentage of only .435. If its opponents turn the ball over, Milwaukee has shown that it knows how to capitalize. They average 18.7 points off turnovers, making them the fourth-best team in the league for that category.
On the other side, the Pacers head into the game with records of 36-32-2 ATS and 30-40 SU. Most recently, Indiana is a meager 3-7 ATS over the last 10 games. Indiana’s defense as a whole has been firing on all cylinders so far, ranking fourth in the NBA with only 97.0 points allowed per game. Teams don’t seem to hit many three-pointers against the Pacers, who are fifth in the league in terms of three-point field goals allowed at 512 this season.
Indiana won the last meeting this season between these two teams, moving its SU record against the Bucks to 8-2 in their last 10 head-to-head meetings. At 5-5, they are even bets ATS. When it comes to field goals, rebounds, and three-pointers, neither team was able to hold the advantage in all three of these categories over their past 10 meetings against one another.
Predictions: SU Winner – MIL, ATS Winner – MIL
Notes
Milwaukee ranks 22nd in points per game with 97.7, while Indiana ranks fourth in points allowed with an average of 97.0 given up.
Milwaukee ranks 22nd in points per home game with 97.8 points, while Indiana ranks sixth in points allowed on the road with 97.8.
In games where they allow fewer than 100 points, the Milwaukee Bucks are a solid 27-11. In games where they fail to hit triple digits, the Indiana Pacers have a subpar record of 11-32.
When allowing 100 or more points in a game, the Bucks are just 8-25 this season. Indiana is a winning 19-8 when it hits the century mark.
The Bucks have an offensive rating of 100.0 (ranked 25th). The Pacers rank seventh for their defensive rating of 100.6.
The Milwaukee Bucks average 97.6 possessions per game and 1.000 points per possession, while the Indiana Pacers earn fewer possessions (96.4) but more points per possession (1.002).
The Milwaukee Bucks average an effective field goal percentage of 49.8% this season. The Indiana Pacers have an underachieving record of 8-19 when opponents have an EFF% of 49.8% or greater.
Milwaukee makes an average of 23.2 assists per game (ranked seventh), while Indiana makes 21.4 assists per game (ranked 17th).
The Milwaukee Bucks average 5.0 blocks per game for a rank of ninth. The Indiana Pacers rank lower (21st), earning 4.5 blocks each game.
The Milwaukee Bucks rank 18th in offensive rebounding, while the Indiana Pacers rank fourth in defensive rebounding.
The Milwaukee Bucks average 9.4 steals per game (ranked fourth). The Indiana Pacers have a poor record of 9-16 when they allow at least 9 steals.
