Will Milwaukee Earn Revenge Over Pacers After In-Season NBA Tournament Loss?
Our Bucks vs Pacers NBA Betting Preview Has The Answers
On Wednesday night, the Indiana Pacers will travel to Milwaukee to face the Bucks for the third time this NBA season.
Surprisingly, the Pacers have edged out the Bucks in two consecutive games. The most recent NBA matchup finished with the Pacers earning a 128-119 win in the NBA In-Season Tournament semifinals.
Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner combined for 53 points, 17 assists, and 17 rebounds in that win. Can that duo outshine Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard once again?
The Bucks are still -5.5 favorites, with the total at 256.5, despite the two earlier losses to the Pacers.
Take a look at our Bucks vs Pacers NBA betting preview for this exciting Eastern Conference matchup.
Pacers vs Bucks 
Day/Time:
Location: Fiserv Forum
Streaming: Bally Sports Indiana/Bally Sports Wisconsin
Bucks vs Pacers NBA Betting Preview
The Indiana Pacers have been much more consistent against the spread this season. Indiana has covered in 13 of 22 games this season. They’ve also reached the Over in 17 games this season.
The Pacers have earned wins against the spread in four of their last five games. However, the Under has actually hit in three of those five games.
Meanwhile, the Bucks might be 16-7 on the year. But they’re only 9-13-1 against the spread. Milwaukee hasn’t covered many games as heavy favorites.
Milwaukee has also hit the Over in 15 of 23 games this season. Beyond that, the Bucks have gone 11-2 at home this season. They’ll be home against the Pacers in this one.
As stated above, the Pacers have defeated the Bucks twice this season. Indiana was an underdog in both games and earned an outright win. However, the Bucks have won seven of the last ten games against the Pacers, dating back to 2021.
Tyrese Haliburton’s Becoming A Star!
Heading into the NBA season, most fans already knew that Tyrese Haliburton was special.
He scored 20.7 points per game and added 10.4 assists per game for the Pacers in a little under 60 games. He was already Indiana’s best NBA player.
However, so far this year, Haliburton has leveled up his game. Haliburton has scored 26.3 points per game to go along with 12.3 assists. He’s also added .5 more rebounds per game and led the Pacers into the NBA In-Season Tournament Championship.
In the In-Season Tournament, Haliburton scored 26.7 points and averaged 13.3 assists in seven games.
With the former Iowa State point guard, the Pacers are in contention for a top seed in the East.
The Bucks Will Be Ready
Milwaukee’s head coach, Adrian Griffin, assured the media that the Bucks will be ready and prepared for their rematch against the Pacers.
However, the Bucks will be playing in a back-to-back game after playing in overtime against the Bucks last night.
While Giannis Antetokounmpo added 32 points and 12 rebounds, Damian Lillard shot 3-for-17 from the field and ended with 14 points in 41 minutes. That certainly isn’t ideal.
Four of the five players in the starting lineup played 40 minutes last night. Meanwhile, Milwaukee really only has a rotation of nine players.
That said, sometimes adrenaline will take over. The Bucks will want revenge on the Pacers after getting bounced out of the Semifinals.
Can The Bucks Get Stops?
The Indiana Pacers have the best offense in the NBA analytically. This isn’t an eye test.
The Pacers have scored the most points per 100 possessions in the NBA with 124. Indiana has also shot a 59.2% effective field goal percentage, leading the NBA.
Beyond that, the Pacers have only turned the ball over 12.5% of the time, the third-best rate in the NBA.
Indiana won’t get to the foul line at a high rate. The Pacers could also struggle to earn second-chance points. But the Pacers will still get good looks and limit the turnovers to get even more looks from the field.
The Bucks have given up 116.8 points per 100 possessions, which is 23rd in the NBA.
Meanwhile, the Bucks also have one of the best offenses in the NBA. They’re not the Pacers, but the Bucks have scored the fourth-best points per 100 possessions with 119.6 points. Milwaukee should often get to the foul line against a Pacers defense that has allowed an NBA-worst 25.7 free throw rate.
The Bucks have also shot a 57.7% effective field goal percentage and have limited turnovers to 13.1%.
With the Pacers allowing a 56.2% effective field goal percentage, the Bucks should also have their way offensively.
Each team has scored at least 119 points in the two games where the Pacers and Bucks played against one another. We saw these basketball teams in the NBA In-Season Tournament, and we’ll also see these teams in the NBA Playoffs.
The NBA scores are high when the Pacers and Bucks play. Therefore, when looking at the NBA betting lines, we’ll back the Over 256.5 (-110) to conclude our Bucks vs Pacers NBA betting preview.
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