Spurs Invade Milwaukee for Saturday Night Tilt with the Bucks

Sat, Mar 20, 2021
By Jim Vassallo (Veri.bet Writer)

The San Antonio Spurs (22-16, 7th in Western Conference) visit the Milwaukee Bucks (26-14, 3rd in Eastern Conference) on Saturday, March 20, at 9 PM ET.

This is the first of two regular-season meetings between the teams.

San Antonio is on a three-game win streak and in first place in the Southwest Division. The Spurs hold a two-game lead over the second-place Dallas Mavericks.

Milwaukee is on a five-game win streak and is in first place in the Central Division. The Bucks hold an eight-game lead on the second-place Indiana Pacers. The Bucks are the only team in their division with a winning record.

In their most recent game, the Spurs took down the Cleveland Cavaliers 116-110 behind 23 points and 21 rebounds from Keldon Johnson. San Antonio is 12-6 on the road this year.

In their last 10 games played, the Spurs are just 6-4. 

Milwaukee recently defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 109-105 in overtime after overcoming a 19-point deficit. The Bucks are 9-1 in their last 10 games played, keeping pace in a tight Eastern Conference race for the top three seeds.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is the leading scorer for the Bucks, averaging 29.1 points per game. He dropped 32 points in the victory over the 76ers earlier this week.

DeMar DeRozan leads the Spurs in scoring at 20.3 points per game. 

The injury report for tonight’s game is small, with just Rodions Kurucs day-to-day for the Bucks with an abdominal injury and Keita Bates-Diop out for the Spurs with a hamstring injury.

The Bucks are heavy favorites in tonight’s NBA contest at -9.5. It makes sense, especially since they are 9-1 in their last 10 and have won five in a row. They are also 10-1 in their last 11 games. The lone loss came in between the current five-game win streak and a previous five-game win streak.

Before that, the Bucks had endured a five-game losing streak. The Bucks are in the midst of their third, five-game win streak of the season, their longest to date. 

Milwaukee acquired P.J. Tucker from the Houston Rockets after the win over the 76ers this week. It is not yet known if he will be available for the game tonight against the Spurs. 

San Antonio comes into tonight having won three in a row for a fourth time this season, their longest streak to date. Their longest losing streak of the season was four games and it came within the first 10 games of the year.

The Spurs are going to need a dominant effort from DeRozan if they want to pull off an upset on the road Saturday night. DeRozan will need help from his supporting cast as well, including Johnson.

If you are looking for an easy bet on NBA action tonight, this game might seem like the best option. Of course, anything can happen, but you should be better off placing your bet on the money line, which is at -475 for the Bucks.