Milwaukee Bucks at Indiana Pacers, May 13 (8:00 ET)
Following the matinee against Philadelphia, another contender comes to town as the Pacers face Central Division leaders Milwaukee Bucks, who are sitting at 3rd in the East. For the third straight year, Cream City is riding MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo in a bid to get over the hump and win the title. Before that though, hey find themselves in a three-way race for conference supremacy with Philly and Brooklyn.
In two meetings this season, the Pacers have lost embarrassingly against their division rivals by an average margin of victory of 23.5 points. With the ever-efficient Khris Middleton and defensive ace Jrue Holiday forming a potent big three with Giannis in Milwaukee, alongside an offense that feasts on open lanes and three pointers, the Bucks’ machine remains one of the association’s deadliest.
Unfortunately, Indiana does not have the defensive tools to slow down Mike Budenholzer’s schemes. The Greek Freek will control this contest and as long as he keeps attacking the Pacers’ rather brittle defense, especially without Turner, this game is theirs to lose. However, the Bucks may opt to rest some players as this is the first night of a back-to-back for them. Either way, trust Milwaukee more here, despite Indiana giving every ounce of their effort to carve out a W.
Final Score: Milwaukee 115, Indiana 109