Milwaukee Bucks vs. Boston Celtics Game 5 Prediction, NBA Odds
The Boston Celtics will look for their first series lead when they play host to the defending NBA champion Milwaukee Bucks in Game 5 of this second-round series on Wednesday. The teams have alternated wins through four games, with Boston evening the series at two games apiece with a 116-108 victory on Monday.
The Celtics are 5.5-point favourites to win Game 5 on the NBA odds, while the total is set at 214.5.
Bucks vs. Celtics NBA Betting Odds
This has been a very even head-to-head this year, with each team winning four of eight total games through the regular season and playoffs. Home court has been a big advantage as the home team has won six of the eight meetings. The Over/Under has also split evenly this year, although Game 4 was the first of the four playoff games to finish Over the total.
Milwaukee’s loss on Monday was just their second defeat in their last seven games. It’s worth noting that they have been a terrible cover option against Boston as they’re just 1-10 against the spread in their last 11 games against the Celtics. The total has gone Under in eight of the Bucks’ last nine games overall and four of their last five on the road.
With the Game 4 victory, Boston improve to 7-2 straight up across their last nine games. They’re a solid 6-1 ATS in their last seven games overall and 5-1 ATS in their last six home games against Milwaukee. The total has gone Under in five of the Celtics’ last seven games.
Boston is back as a -200 favourite to win the series after also opening Game 1 at -200. The Bucks are now +160 series underdogs after opening Game 1 at +200. The favoured exact series result is for the Celtics to win in seven games at +171.
Milwaukee Bucks
The defending champs couldn’t gut out a win in Game 4 despite another monster night from superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who put up a game-high 34 points and 18 rebounds. Brook Lopez added 17 points and seven rebounds, while Jrue Holiday had 16 points, six boards and nine assists. Holiday largely struggled and shot just 5 of 22. Milwaukee is clearly hurting without Khris Middleton, who missed a seventh straight game on Monday with a sprained MCL in his left knee. Middleton has already been ruled out for Game 5 and likely won’t feature in the rest of the series.
One positive to take away from Game 4 was Milwaukee outrebounding the Celtics 48-38. The Bucks averaged 46.7 rebounds per game during the regular season, finishing second in the NBA. They’re averaging 50.1 rebounds through nine playoff games, the best mark of any postseason team.
Boston Celtics
After a poor 10-point performance in Game 3, Jayson Tatum answered the bell in Game 4, finishing with 30 points and 13 rebounds. Al Horford also hit 30 points for the night and added eight boards. Jaylen Brown and Marcus Smart each chipped in 18 points. After Brown ran into foul trouble and played less than half the fourth quarter, Tatum and Horford stepped up. Horford scored 16 of his points in the fourth quarter, while Tatum had 12 . It was a big fourth quarter for the entire Boston team. After shooting 40 per cent through the first three quarters, the Celtics went 16 of 19 overall and 4 of 5 from three-point range in the fourth. Horford was a perfect 6 of 6 and Tatum was 5 of 6.
Keep an eye on updates to Robert Williams’ status for Game 5 as he is listed as questionable. Williams was a surprise scratch in Game 4 with knee soreness. The big man had played the previous five games after missing a month due to meniscus surgery. There is reportedly no setback in his recovery and he is just dealing with soreness, so there’s a good chance he does draw back into the lineup on Wednesday.
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