The Milwaukee Bucks (32-17 SU, 26-20-3 ATS) are 7-2 SU and 5-4 ATS in their last nine games against the New Orleans Pelicans (26-24 SU, 24-26 ATS). The Bucks will try to pick up another win over the Pelicans in Milwaukee this Sunday night. These two teams have very consistently generated high-scoring games in recent years. The OVER is 5-0 in the last five games between New Orleans and Milwaukee and 12-1 in the last 13 games between them. Milwaukee's 128-119 road win over the Pelicans as 1-point favorites earlier this season soared over the posted total of 227.5 points.
Latest Betting Notes: Pelicans
New Orleans' recent struggles continued on Saturday night in a 113-103 loss to the Washington Wizards at home as 5.5-point favorites. CJ McCollum scored 24 points in the loss and Brandon Ingram scored 22 while no one else on the team managed to score above 10 points. The Pelicans dropped to 0-7 SU and 2-5 ATS over their last five games with the loss.
Prior to Zion Williamson's hamstring injury, New Orleans put together a 5-0 SU and 4-1 ATS run at the end of December. The team has struggled since then however with a 3- 12 SU and 5-10 ATS record over its last 15 games. The Pelicans are 2-6 SU and ATS in their last eight games on the second night of a back-to-back.
Latest Betting Notes: Bucks
The Bucks carried an 85-56 lead into halftime en route to a 141-131 win over the Indiana Pacers as 6.5-point road favorites on Friday night. Giannis Antetokounmpo racked up 41 points, 12 rebounds and six assists in the win and was one of seven players on the Bucks to score at least 12 points. Antetokounmpo ranks third in the NBA in scoring this season with 31.3 points per game and second in rebounding with 12 rebounds per game.
Milwaukee is now 5-1 SU and 4-2 ATS over its last five games. The Bucks enter this matchup against the Pelicans with a 19-5 SU and 16-8 ATS record at home this season.
The Keys to Victory: Pelicans
With Zion Williamson out, the Pelicans don't currently have the firepower to shoot out with Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Bucks. To cover the spread as big road underdogs, New Orleans will need to play very well on defense, as it did in a 100-96 loss to the Miami Heat as 7.5-point underdogs lasy Sunday.
The path to an outright win is much less clear. New Orleans is averaging a dismal 101.4 points per game on offense during its current seven-game losing streak. The Pelicans will need both their top stars and their role players to get hot on Sunday night to generate enough offense to pull off an upset.
The Keys to Victory: Bucks
Milwaukee has been a very reliable bet as a favorite in recent weeks going 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS in their last six games as one. The Bucks have won those six games by an average margin of victory of 11.3 points per game.
The key to the Bucks' success against inferior teams is its offense, which has scored 130 points or more in four of the team's last six games. With Giannis Antetokounmpo playing at a high level and the rest of the team shooting well, the Bucks have all the tools to continue their dominance at home with a big win and cover on Sunday night.
