The Milwaukee Bucks (14-8) roll into “Jurassic Park” Thursday to play the Toronto Raptors (9-13) at Scotiabank Arena. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET. Below, we look at the Bucks vs. Raptors odds and lines, and make our expert NBA picks, predictions, and bets.
Milwaukee has won eight straight games since two-time All-Star wing Khris Middleton returned to the lineup. However, the Bucks have only covered in half of those wins and lost ATS in Wednesday’s thrilling 127-125 victory over the Charlotte Hornets. Milwaukee is 10-12 ATS and 8-14 O/U.
Toronto is 2-7 overall and ATS in its last nine games and enters on a three-game losing skid with the latest being a 98-91 loss at home versus a Ja Morant-less Memphis Grizzlies Tuesday. The Raptors are 8-14 ATS and 12-10 O/U.
The Raptors won and covered two of three regular-season meetings with the Bucks last year and the Under was 2-1 in those contests.
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Bucks at Raptors odds, spread and lines
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 3:07 p.m. ET.
- Money line: Bucks -190 (bet $190 to win $100) | Raptors +155 (bet $100 to win $155)
- Against the spread (ATS): Bucks -4.5 (-115) | Raptors +2.5 (-107)
- Over/Under (O/U): 216.5 (O: -107 | U: -115)
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Bucks at Raptors key injuries
Bucks
- SG Donte DiVincenzo (ankle) out
- C DeMarcus Cousins (reconditioning) out
- C Brook Lopez (back) out
Raptors
- SG Gary Trent Jr. (calf) questionable
- SF OG Anunoby (hip) out
- PG Goran Dragic (personal) out
Bucks at Raptors odds, lines, picks and predictions
Prediction
Bucks 112, Raptors 102
Money line
PASS with a heavy “lean” towards the Bucks (-190) because this is on the fringe of my price range for an NBA regular-season favorite. Milwaukee is definitely the right side but I like the Bucks enough in this spot to lay the points and avoid the vig.
Against the spread
BET BUCKS -4.5 (-115) for 1 unit because they have the best efficiency differential since Middleton came back and are actually better than their record indicates.
Milwaukee is 1.5 games behind the Brooklyn Nets for first-place in the Eastern Conference for now and not much longer in my opinion. While this definitely feels like a “trap spot” for the Bucks, I’m going to take the bait.
The Bucks just hammer bad teams. Milwaukee is 7-1 overall with a plus-16.2 efficiency differential against teams with a bottom-10 net rating, according to CleaningTheGlass.com. Against bottom-10 defenses, Milwaukee is 5-1 overall with a plus-16.0 efficiency differential.
The Raptors also can’t find their groove at home: Toronto is 2-8 overall and 1-9 ATS at home with the fifth-worst efficiency differential and the second-worst ATS margin.
Milwaukee should be motivated due to past results and playoff losses against Toronto. The Bucks have lost two straight at home to the Raptors and both by double digits. Granted, it was last year, but Milwaukee is red-hot and I don’t envision the Bucks letting their guard down in this game.
Over/Under
PASS with a slight “lean” to the Under 216.5 (-115) since my numbers predict this game going under by a few points. Milwaukee should shut down Toronto who could be without a couple of starters.
For what it’s worth, a majority of the market is betting the Over, according to the Yahoo! Sports App and Pregame.com. The total has been increased from 215 on the lookahead line to the current number.
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