The Milwaukee Bucks (28-16 SU, 23-18-3 ATS) and Toronto Raptors (20-24, 22-22) collide at Fiserv Forum on Tuesday as the visitors look to stay hot. Toronto has four wins in its last five games while Milwaukee has been inconsistent of late, going 6-8 in its last 14 contests.
Although the Raptors are 5-1 in the last six meetings, the Bucks go into Tuesday night as the 6-point favorite at home. Look for a lower-scoring game as well as the UNDER is 10-2 in the last 12 contests between the clubs.
Latest Betting Notes: Raptors
The Raptors got back into the win column on Monday, defeating the New York Knicks 123-121 in overtime. Toronto turned in a strong offensive performance as Fred VanVleet (33 points), Scottie Barnes (26 points) and Pascal Siakam (20 points) each scored 20-plus.
For a while it looked like the Raptors would sink into the basement of the Eastern Conference standings, but they’ve strung a few wins together to get within striking distance of .500. What’s held Toronto back this season has been its lackluster offense: the team is scoring just 111.8 points per game – 23rd in the NBA – though a strong January from Gary Trent Jr. (21.4 points per game) has given them a boost.
Latest Betting Notes: Bucks
After suffering back-to-back losses to the Miami Heat, the Bucks picked up a win Monday, topping the Indiana Pacers 132-119. Jrue Holiday stepped up with 35 points and 11 assists to lead the way as Giannis Antetokounmpo sat out a third consecutive game with a knee injury. As of Monday night, there was no word whether Antetokounmpo would return for Tuesday’s contest.
Understandably, Milwaukee’s offense has suffered since losing Antetokounmpo, averaging just 98.5 points in the first two contests without him. The Bucks bounced back nicely against the Pacers thanks to a huge performance from Holiday, but they’ll need more of that to keep afloat without their star.
The Keys to Victory: Raptors
Toronto has been looking a bit better of late and has a chance to really get some momentum going against a potentially undermanned Bucks squad that could be without both Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton, who has been sidelined since December 15.
If the Raptors are going to come out on top as the road underdog, they’ll need most of their starters to have strong nights offensively while keeping things tight in their own half as well. The Raptors have loosened up a bit defensively of late but they still own the eighth-best defensive mark in the NBA, allowing 111.5 points per game.
The Keys to Victory: Bucks
Assuming Antetokounmpo is out again, the Bucks will really need to band together and get a couple of big performances from other parts of the lineup. We saw Holiday go off for 35 points on Monday but that was outside of the norm for the point guard, who’s averaging just 18.3 points per game.
Holiday has been good of late, though, leading the team in scoring in three of its last four games, so he’ll likely be looked upon to lead the charge offensively again if Antetokounmpo can’t go.
