NBA

Milwaukee Bucks at Brooklyn Nets Game 1 odds, picks and prediction

Joe Williams

Sportsbook Wire

The 3-seed Milwaukee Bucks and 2-seed Brooklyn Nets play Game 1 of their Eastern Conference second-round series Saturday at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Bucks vs. Nets odds and lines, with NBA picks and predictions.

The Bucks busted out the broom and swept the Miami Heat in the first round. After a narrow Game 1 win in overtime at home, the Bucks won by 34, 29 and 17 points in the final three games, cashing the Over in two of those contests.

The Nets won and covered the spread in the first two games against the Boston Celtics. After a wake-up call with a loss in Game 3 at Boston, the Nets buckled down and won the final two games of the series by an average of 14.5 points per game.

Bucks at Nets: Odds, spread and lines

Odds via BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports' betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:37 a.m. ET.

Money line : Bucks +155 (bet $100 to win $155) | Nets -190 (bet $190 to win $100)
Against the spread/ATS : Bucks +4.5 (-110) | Nets -4.5 (-110)
Over/Under : 238.5 (O: -115 | U: -105)

Bucks at Nets: Key injuries

Bucks

SG Donte DiVincenzo (ankle) out

Nets

PF Jeff Green (foot) out

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Bucks at Nets: Odds, lines, predictions and picks

Prediction

Nets 124, Bucks 121

Money line (ML)

NETS (-190) is a little on the expensive side but not a bad play if you just want to pick a winner and forget about laying points. In the lone head-to-head meeting in Brooklyn this season, the Nets beat the Bucks 125-123 but failed to cover as 4-point favorites. We could we see a similar close game here.

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Against the spread (ATS)

MILWAUKEE +4.5 (-110) is worth a small-unit play, although I don't love it. However, the Bucks haven't lost in the postseason yet, and they covered all three regular-season meetings against the Nets.

Over/Under (O/U)

The OVER 238.5 (-110) is a huge number, but it's the play in this series opener. The Under connected in both games of a back-to-back in Milwaukee between the two teams in early May, and the Over cashed in the one game at Barclays.

Milwaukee averaged 120.1 PPG in the regular season to lead the NBA in scoring, while yielding 114.2 PPG to rank 22nd defensively. Brooklyn was No. 2 with 118.6 PPG of offense, and 21st defensively at 114.1 PPG. The scoreboard operators in this series better limber up their fingers.

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