Milwaukee Bucks vs. Phoenix Suns Game 5 Prediction, Playoff Odds
A late 19-8 run proved to be the difference in Game 4 as the Bucks beat the Suns 109-101 on Wednesday night in Milwaukee. The best-of-7 NBA Finals is now tied at two games apiece with a pivotal Game 5 set to go in Phoenix on Saturday.
The Suns are 4-point favourites to win on the NBA odds with a total of 218.
Bucks vs. Suns NBA Playoff Odds
The series may be split down the middle, but the betting action isn’t. Nearly 80 per cent of Sports Interaction bettors are backing the Suns at home with the Over favoured at a 60/40 split. The two opening games in Phoenix went Over, while Game 3 was a push and Game 4 went Under.
The Game 3 and 4 wins broke a five-game losing streak against the Suns for Milwaukee. That streak makes it easy to see why the Bucks have failed to cover in five straight games in Phoenix and eight of their last 11 games against the Suns overall. With the way Giannis Antetokounmpo is playing, taking Milwaukee as a +130 series underdog looks like a decent value. Speaking of Antetokounmpo, he’s now a +110 favourite to add a Finals MVP award to his trophy case.
The Suns will be happy to be back in Phoenix where they’ve won seven of their last eight games. They’re 12-5 against the spread in their last 17 games overall and they’ve covered in five straight against Milwaukee. Phoenix sits as a -152 favourite to win their first NBA Championship in franchise history. The Suns have two of the top three favourites to be the Finals MVP, with Chris Paul at +175 and Devin Booker at +300.
Milwaukee Bucks
For the second time this postseason, the Bucks have climbed out of an 0-2 hole to tie the series. Khris Middleton was the biggest difference for Milwaukee in Game 4. Middleton dropped a playoff career-high of 40 points and also added six rebounds four assists and two steals. He only got better as the game went on, scoring more points in each quarter than the previous quarter. Middleton was especially clutch in the finals minutes, scoring 10 of his 14 fourth quarter points in the final 2:07 of the game.
Even after hyperextending his knee in the Eastern Conference Final, Antetokounmpo has continued to make his case for Finals MVP. He had another monster performance on Wednesday, finishing with 26 points, 14 rebounds, eight assists, three steals and two blocks. Antetokounmpo and Middleton became just the third duo in the last 50 years to each record a 40-point game in the same NBA Finals series. The others are LeBron James and Kyrie Irving, as well as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson.
Phoenix Suns
After a poor performance in Game 3, Booker answered back with a huge night in Game 4. He had a game-high 42 points with an outstanding 60.7 per cent shooting efficiency. Booker has now scored the most points of any player in their NBA postseason debut, passing Rick Barry’s mark of 521. It was a great battle between Booker and Middleton. Game 4 was only the fourth time in NBA Finals history that opposing players hit the 40-point mark in the same game. It hasn’t happened since Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson did it in 2001.
Paul had an uncharacteristically quiet night on Wednesday, which could have been the difference. He only managed 10 points on 5-of-13 shooting and committed five of Phoenix’s 17 turnovers. Paul’s age might be catching up to him. Since a 32-point performance in Game 1, the 36-year-old has seen his numbers continuously decline and he’s committed 15 turnovers over the last three games.
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