Bucks Favored At Home In Battle For NBA’s Best Record

The NBA’s best record is at stake as the Bucks host the Lakers with identical 24-4 records. The Bucks have owned the rivalry recently, and with Anthony Davis’ status in question, Milwaukee’s home dominance might end up prevailing again over the Lakers’ strong road play.

Sportsbook Odds Analysis

The Bucks opened as 4.5-point favorites at home, but with the status of Los Angeles’ Anthony Davis still in question, the spread could possibly shift more, even though both teams have identical 24-4 records.   

Los Angeles News & Notes

With Anthony Davis sidelined with a mild ankle sprain, the Lakers were not able to keep their 14-game road winning streak alive. Los Angeles lost 105-102 to the Pacers on Tuesday, falling two games short of the franchise record for consecutive road wins.

Jared Dudley got the start in Davis’ absence but it was Dwight Howard who stepped up, logging season highs with 20 points and 26 minutes, while LeBron James also added 20 points, nine assists and nine rebounds.

The Lakers will need to regroup quickly, as Thursday marks the final contest of their five-game road trip and features their toughest opponent yet — the Milwaukee Bucks, who own an identical 24-4 record.

Davis is listed as questionable for Thursday’s contest and if he’s unable to go, Los Angeles will have its work cut out to break a five-game SU losing streak against the Bucks.

Milwaukee News & Notes

The Bucks saw their 18-game win streak snapped in surprising fashion on Monday, and they’ll need to have a short memory if they want to avoid losing back-to-back games for the first time all year.

In losing 120-116 at home to the Luka Doncic-less Mavericks, Milwaukee played a game script that it generally prefers to avoid: Giannis Antetokounmpo does it all, while nobody else really does anything.

Giannis had a mammoth game, scoring 48 points while adding 14 rebounds, but the other four Bucks starters had 23 points combined.

The Bucks are 7-1 in their last eight home games against the Lakers. For them to continue that success, against Los Angeles’ second-ranked defense, they need reliable depth scoring — Antetokounmpo can’t do it all himself. If the likes of Kris Middleton, Brook Lopez and Wesley Matthews can produce more in line with what we’ve seen throughout this season, the Bucks should continue their recent dominance over the purple and gold.

Betting Pick: Bucks -4.5

Milwaukee will surely want to rebound from its previous home defeat, and with Anthony Davis not 100 percent, I don’t think the Lakers will be able to quite keep up.