NBA Betting: Nets Have Bucks In Sights

The Brooklyn Nets can advance to the Eastern Conference final Thursday night if they can topple the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 6 of their second-round series.

It looked like the Bucks were headed for a 3-2 series lead midway through Game 5 on Tuesday night. Milwaukee held a 16-point lead at the half and was dominating a Nets squad that was missing Kyrie Irving and making do with a hobbled James Harden. In the second half, Kevin Durant carried the team to a 114-108 win as a 1-point road favorite.

Bucks favored in Game 6 with home-court advantage

Durant was a monster in the win with 49 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists. Harden’s injured hamstring clearly gave him trouble as he was held to five points on 1-of-10 shooting. He did chip in with six rebounds and eight assists, while Jeff Green had a strong game for the Nets off the bench with 27 points, which included going 7-for-8 from three-point range.

The series heads back to Milwaukee for Game 6. With Irving remaining questionable due to an ankle injury that sidelined him in Game 5, and Harden still walking wounded, the Bucks are a 3.5-point favorite at Bovada Sportsbook. Playing at home may be the most important factor for the Bucks, as they’ve won 12 in a row straight up in Milwaukee while going 7-5 against the spread.

Also worth noting for bettors, the home team has won every game in this series so far, and if you include the regular season, the home team has won every matchup between Milwaukee and Brooklyn this year. The Nets head into Game 6 1-3 SU and 2-2 ATS in their last four road games.

UNDER has been dominant trend in matchup

For totals bettors, the UNDER has paid well in this series. In the five games, the UNDER is 4-0-1. That’s been a common trend in this matchup all season, as the UNDER is 6-1-1 in the eight games between Milwaukee and Brooklyn.

The Nets’ win in Game 5 completely changed the odds on the series and the NBA championship futures at Bovada. Brooklyn was a series underdog heading into Game 5 but following the win is now a -275 series favorite at Bovada. If you think Milwaukee can come back to take the series, the Bucks are +225 underdogs.

On the NBA championship futures, the Bucks were the overall favorite at +300 before Game 5. They’ve now slipped to +600, while the Nets have climbed up the odds list from +375 to the current NBA championship favorites at +180.