Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA

Indiana Pacers vs Milwaukee Bucks Game 5: Eastern Conference Playoffs – First round

The Milwaukee Bucks are hosting the Indiana Pacers in Fiserv Forum on Tuesday and anything but a win is not an option for Doc Rivers’ team.

The Pacers look ready for big things in the Playoffs

The Indiana Pacers have their best season in the past decade and are only one win away from advancing to the second round of the playoffs. After splitting the first two games in Milwaukee, the Pacers won both games at home and are coming off their best performance in the series with a 126-113 win. The Pacers made 22 three-pointers on 51.2% shooting from deep. Myles Turner led the way with 29 points, followed by Tyrese Haliburton with 24.

Can the shorthanded Bucks survive?

The Milwaukee Bucks finished third in the Eastern Conference but had no luck coming into the postseason. They lost Giannis Antetokounmpo in the final week of the season, and then Damian Lillard got hurt in Game 3 of the series against the Pacers. That left too big of a hole in the Bucks offense, and they simply could not keep up with the Pacers. Brook Lopez led the Bucks in Game 4 with 27 points, followed by Khris Middleton with 25 and Malik Beasley with 20.

Betting Trends

Indiana has covered the spread in 6 of the last 9 games against Milwaukee. The Pacers are 2-4 ATS in the last 6 road games. The Bucks are 5-10 ATS in the last 15 games overall, 4-8 ATS in the last 12 games against teams from the Central Division and 1-4 ATS in the last five games played on Tuesday.

Prediction and Conclusion

No one could have really predicted that the Pacers would be 3-1 up when the series returns to Milwaukee, and without trying to take anything away from Indiana, it is a fact that the Bucks were hit by bad luck. Giannis Antetokounmpo was aware that he would not be ready to help his team in the opening round of the playoffs, but losing Damian Lillard was simply too much to handle. Given the circumstances, the Bucks played as well as they could, but that wasn’t enough to win in Indiana. The Pacers picked up the pace and showed why they were the highest-scoring team in the regular season. They are the favorites going into this one, but the Bucks will show their courage and keep the game close, covering the +3.5-point spread.