After falling behind 2-0 in the series, the Bucks clawed their way back in the series, winning both games three and four at home. The Bucks earned a nice 107-96 win in game four as the Nets had to deal with yet another injury to one of the big three as Kyrie Irving went down at the halfway mark of the second quarter with an ankle injury.
With this series all knotted up at 2-2, the Nets will look to bounce back and defend home court.
Milwaukee Buck Preview: Take advantage of Nets injury woes
The Milwaukee Bucks were the aggressor from start to finish in game four, displaying great basketball on both ends. Giannis Antetokounmpo played another spectacular game leading his team to a win, but it was PJ Tucker who stood out.
Tucker scored 13 points and snagged 7 rebounds on 50% shooting from three, but it was his defensive effort on Kevin Durant that made the difference. Tucker held Durant to just 9-25 shooting on the night. Durant saw all kinds of different looks and could never really get into a rhythm over the course of the game.
Earlier in the series, the Bucks offense had very little flow and looked very sluggish, but in game 3, they came to life earning a 3 point win and found another switch in game 4 as the ball moved and shots found the bottom of the net. They had 27 assists, and five players scored in double digits. With Irving already ruled out for Game 5 and James Harden likely to sit again, the Bucks have a chance to take control of this series.
Brooklyn Nets Preview: Other guys need to step in the absence of Irving and Harden
News got worse in Brooklyn as they will be without another star in the lineup when this game tips off. Even with the series being squared up at 2-2, the Nets have a steep hill to climb for the duration of Irving and Harden being out. They will need contributions from guys like Joe Harris and Blake Griffin if they want a win.
In the first two games of this series, it was easy to assume the Nets were going to run away with this series, but now that chance of them being knocked out looks very real. In game 4, the role players were horrid. Joe Harris struggled to make shots, Bruce Brown couldn’t get any rhythm, and Jeff Green and Blake Griffin were non-factors and had no influence on the flow of the game.
If the Nets are hoping to win this game, they need big nights from guys outside of Durant.
Bucks vs Nets Betting Lines & Odds
The Bucks are -3.5 point road favorites in this game, with the over/under set at 217.5 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.
This is arguably the most important game of this series unless Harden decides he is going to try and come back in Game 6, but with Irving already set to miss Game 5 and potentially the rest of the series, this is going to be a tough game for the Nets to win. Kevin Durant won’t play as bad as he did in Game 4, but can he get help from the other guys to get this series to 3-2 in Brooklyn’s favor?
The Bucks have really picked it up on both ends of the floor, as shown by their last two games at home, but that’s it. They played those games at home. The Nets haven’t faced much adversity yet, and this is going to be a big test if the Bucks continue their stellar play of late. Without the star duo and lack of help, I can see the Bucks going up 3-2.
Free Pick: Bucks -3.5