It’s go time for the Milwaukee Bucks. They take on the Phoenix Suns in Game 4 of the NBA Finals tonight, and there’s a lot riding on this game. The Bucks are currently down 2-1 in the best-of-seven series, but their impressive win in Game 3 is giving them some much-needed motivation. As they host the Suns again tonight, they will need to keep that motivation high, as well as the defense tight, if they expected to even the series.
Bucks Look To Hang On
The Bucks looked good in Game 3, putting up some awesome numbers in front of a home crowd that allowed them to look like a championship team. The 120-100 victory was all about Milwaukee, with Giannis Antetokounmpo and others finally finding their mojo to secure the win. Perhaps sitting out for a couple of games due to a knee injury was the best thing that could have happened to the Greek Freak, as well as the Bucks.
The Bucks are finding their defensive stance in the postseason, improving considerably with their percentages. They will have to keep this up tonight at Fiserv Forum if they want to make this a 2-2 series. Otherwise, there’s a good chance that the Suns are going to walk all over them. The Bucks have kept their opponents to 106.4 points per 100 possessions in the postseason, which is enough to make a difference. In the regular season, that figure was 110.7. Now, having had three days to regroup, the Bucks will look to improve even more.
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The Suns either had an off-night on Sunday for Game 3 or were showing signs of fatigue. Devin Booker only went 3 for 14 and 1 for 7 from beyond the paint, and the Suns went 9 for 31 overall from inside. Chris Paul wasn’t able to get much done, either, which didn’t help. That isn’t enough to challenge a Bucks team that is getting better as the season moves forward, and Phoenix will need to do much better tonight.
Game 3 found the Suns having difficulty getting past Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez, a problem it will have fixed before they hit the court today. However, whether they will be able to adjust their shots and make the baskets is something completely different. The Suns are likely to still have some issues in moving on the Bucks.
Oddsmakers Have Their Say
Sportsbooks don’t see the Bucks being able to show off tonight, which could be a big mistake. The Bucks are getting a very long +225 to the -190 of the Suns. Given Milwaukee’s improvements, its home-court advantage and a tighter defense, taking the underdog is likely to produce a nice payday. Because the Bucks will when, they also deserve some action on the -5 (-110) spread. Antetokounmpo is just getting warmed up.
The Over/Under is at 221.5 (-110) for the game. These two teams have now met a total of five times this year, and four of those saw the Over hit. The only exception was the NBA Finals Game 3, which came close. Still, this will be back to the trend and, as both teams are rested and ready, the Over will likely hit one more time.
