Milwaukee @ Los Angeles
Current Records: Milwaukee 29-17; Los Angeles 30-17
The Los Angeles Lakers have the luxury of staying home another game and will welcome the Milwaukee Bucks at 10 p.m. ET March 31 at Staples Center. The Lakers will be strutting in after a victory while Milwaukee will be stumbling in from a loss.
On Sunday, Los Angeles narrowly escaped with a win as the team sidled past the Orlando Magic 96-93. Los Angeles can attribute much of their success to point guard Dennis Schroder, who had 24 points and six assists along with five rebounds, and center Montrezl Harrell, who dropped a double-double on 18 points and 11 boards.
Meanwhile, the Bucks' and the Los Angeles Clippers' contest on Monday was up for grabs at halftime, but Milwaukee was thoroughly outmatched 72-50 in the second half. Milwaukee ended up on the wrong side of a painful 129-105 walloping at the Clippers' hands. It was supposed to be a close matchup, and Milwaukee was supposed to come out on top, but neither of those things ended up happening. Their defeat shouldn't obscure the performances of point guard Jrue Holiday, who had 24 points and seven assists, and power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 32 points in addition to six rebounds.
The Lakers' victory brought them up to 30-17 while Milwaukee's loss pulled them down to 29-17. A couple numbers to keep in mind before tip-off: Los Angeles enters the game with only 106 points allowed per game on average, good for second best in the league. But the Bucks come into the contest boasting the second most points per game in the league at 119. These opposing strengths should make for an exciting matchup.
The Bucks are a big 8.5-point favorite against the Lakers, according to the latest NBA odds.
The oddsmakers were right in line with the betting community on this one, as the game opened as an 8.5-point spread, and stayed right there.
Over/Under: -110
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Milwaukee have won seven out of their last 11 games against Los Angeles.
