Milwaukee Bucks (26-14) at Atlanta Hawks (19-21)
The Bucks are coming off a 4 pt win over the Knicks and successfully bounced back from a shocker against the Hornets on Saturday. In a fairly low-scoring game (111-107), Giannis led the scoring for the Bucks with 22 pts and Brook Lopez added 17. Their road trip now continues to Atlanta and then they'll play back-to-back games against the Heat. Once again, Khris Middleton is out with an injury for the Bucks so the likes of Connaughton, Inglis and Allen will continue to get more playing time.
The Hawks are back at home after a 4-game road-trip across the West coast as they went 2-2. In their latest game, they overcame an 11-point deficit to beat the Clippers by 4 in LA. Trae Young hit the 30-point mark after struggling in the first half and as a team, they shot 49% from the field. They should be confident of an upset in this matchup after beating the Bucks in early November at this venue (117-98). In team news, Clint Capela is still out with an injury so Okongwu will continue to get the start at centre.
The trend in this matchup is usually the Under, especially when Atlanta is the home side. Overall, the Under is 7-2 in the last 9 meetings at this venue.
Stadium Record
Atlanta are 5-5 in their last 10 at home. Milwaukee has lost 4 of their last 5 in Atlanta.
Head to Head Record
The head-to-head is square at 5-5 since 2021.
Best Bet
New Orleans Pelicans (25-16) at Boston Celtics (29-12)
The Pelicans head to Boston fresh from a 20 pt crushing win over the Wizards. CJ McCollum continued his red-hot form with 34 pts and has now hit 25+ pts in 4 straight games. With Zion and Ingram out injured, he'll be the key against the Celtics in this matchup. Jonas Valanciunas has also hit 25+ pts in 2 straight games and looks good value in the player props.
The Celtics held off the Bulls on Tuesday for their 3rd straight win and will look for 6 straight wins at the TD Garden when they host the Pels. Tatum comes off scoring 32 pts against the Bulls and has now scored 30+ in 2 straight outings. In team news, both Smart and Williams are questionable. Smart missed the win over the Bulls with his ongoing knee injury so he's likely doubtful to play.
Valanciunas is enjoying more usage in the Pels offence without Ingram/Zion and he should be a good play to beat 18+ pts. He's averaging 26 pts in his last 2 games and the Celtics might rest Williams, which should help Valanciunas even more.
Stadium Record
Boston hold a 5-0 record in their last 5 home games. New Orleans holds a poor 2-6 record in Boston.
Head to Head Record
The Celtics won the earlier season meeting 117-109. Since 2018, the head-to-head is 6-4 in the Celtics favour.
Best Bet
Player points - J. Valanciunas 18+ = $2.15
Indiana Pacers (23-18) at New York Knicks (22-19)
The Pacers are in good form at the moment after 4 wins in their last 5 so they'll look to continue the momentum against the Knicks. On Monday, they beat the Hornets by 5 pts and overcame a 14 deficit at one stage. Myles Turner had one of his best scoring games of the season with 29 pts and Buddy Hield added 21 pts. While the Pacers don't have a great road record so far this season, they should be keen to avenge a 3 pt home loss against the Knicks in late December.
The Knicks winning streak ended on Tuesday as they went down to the Bucks by 4 pts at this venue. They should be disappointed with that performance after leading by 17 and Jalen Brunson had a game-high 44 pts. Brunson has been in great form for the Knicks lately with 3 straight games of 25+ pts. Julius Randle has been the other consistent performer with 25+ pts in 10 straight games and collected 16 boards against the Bucks. In lineup news, RJ Barrett has missed 6 straight games and will be questionable again for this matchup.
New York have covered in just 1 of their last 6 games and this should be a close contest so we like the Pacers to cover. They're 4-1 ATS on the road and 6-0-1 ATS in their last 7 games overall.
Stadium Record
New York are 6-4 in their last 10 at home. Indiana has lost their last 3 at this venue.
Head to Head Record
The Knicks beat the Pacers in December 109-106 and hold a 6-4 record since 2020.
Best Bet
