As the 2020-21 NBA Playoffs continue, there’s only one game on tonight’s schedule as the Brooklyn Nets take on the Milwaukee Bucks at home for Game 5 of the series. After going up 2-0 after the first two games, it seemed like the Nets had things in the back. Fast forward to Tuesday and the series is all tied up after the Bucks won both of their home games. Now, the series is essentially a best-of-3 and whichever team wins tonight’s game will get a serious advantage.
Scroll on to see BetOnline’s odds for tonight’s NBA action.
NBA Odds: Milwaukee Bucks (No. 3) vs Brooklyn Nets (No. 2) Game 5
Odds via BetOnline as of Tuesday, June 15
- Series: Series tied 2-2
- Time: 8:30 p.m. EST
- Moneyline: Bucks (-190) vs Nets (+165)
- Point Spread: Bucks -4.5 (-110), Nets +4.5 (-110)
- Total: 217.5 — Over (-110), Under (-110)
Bucks Are Betting Favorites Entering Game 5
At -190 odds, the Bucks are BetOnline’s pick to win Game 5. After looking really disappointing through the first two games of this NBA series, the Bucks have turned things around as of late. Giannis Antetokounmpo had a major performance in Game 4, recorded 34 points and 12 rebounds for the double-double. Someone who also had a good showing last game was Pat Connaughton. He played 21:34 coming off the bench and played some stellar defense. Connaughton finished the night with 4 steals, 2 blocks and a plus/minus rating of +23. Needless to say, this kind of performance would go a long way in Game 5.
It’s also been some great defense that has helped the Bucks crawl back into this series. A lot of people thought that nobody in the NBA Playoffs could shut down the Nets, but Milwaukee has done just that over the last two games, holding Brooklyn to an average of 89.5 points per game. Yes, James Harden has been out of the lineup, but credit goes to guys like Connaughton, P.J. Tucker and Jrue Holiday for shutting the remaining Nets down. Brooklyn will look to start off Game 5 on a strong note, which means the Bucks defense once again has to be at the top of its game.
Nets Looking To Bounce Back
There are a lot of things that the Nets have to fix if they want to regain the series advantage. The first thing they have to do is free up NBA Finals MVP favorite Kevin Durant. While he did have 28 points in Game 4, Durant was ice cold from beyond the arc, finishing the matchup by going 1-for-9 from the 3-point line (12.5%). While credit is due to the Bucks’ defense for pulling that off, Brooklyn’s best player needs to find a way to solve those issues. At the same time, 3-point shooting was an issue for Brooklyn’s starters in Game 4 as they combined for a 23.8% from the 3-point arc.
Now, the Nets are in for a bigger test on Tuesday night. They’ll be without both James Harden and Kyrie Irving for Game 5, which means that Durant will need to do things on his own. There’s no doubt that’s capable of some big performances, especially since he’s easily a top-5 player in the NBA. However, it’ll be interesting to see if he can do it again when the stakes are pretty high and he’s the only option on the floor. Someone may just have to step it up and help him get the job done. The only issue is that, aside from Durant (29.8 ppg) and Irving (20.0 ppg), the rest of the Nets haven’t scored that well in the series. Joe Harris (10.8 ppg) and Bruce Brown (10.5 ppg) are the only other Brooklyn players averaging double-digit totals on the series. If the Nets are going to win Game 5, they’re going to need someone to do a lot better than that.
