Milwaukee Bucks vs Miami Heat Game 3 Betting Pick, Odds, Prediction & Lines

 

After taking the commanding 2-0 lead, the Bucks travel to South Beach for Game 3 against the Heat. Following the overtime in the first game, the second one ended in a blowout. Milwaukee easily won 132-98. The Bucks carried their regular season form into the playoffs. The Game 2 win was their 11th in the last 15 games. Their overall record is now 48-26. Against the spread, they went 33-41. Miami on the other hand struggled to replicate last year’s performances when they knocked Milwaukee out of the playoffs. They failed to build on their good play near the end of the regular season when they lost only twice in 10 games. Their SU record is now 40-34 while they’re 35-37-2 ATS. The Bucks have won 4 out of 5 matchups between the two this season.

Line Movement

The Heat opened as the -1 home underdogs. After most of the early action went Milwaukee’s way, the line has moved to -1.5. The total also saw a bit of movement, dropping from 227.5 to 226.5.

Notes on Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee’s Game 2 win was no surprise, but few have expected them to dominate the way they did. The Bucks came out of the gates flying and were up 26 points by the end of the first quarter. In the first 12 minutes, they dropped 46 points on the Heat. Milwaukee had their worst shooting performance of the season in Game 1, going 5 of 31 for three, but more than made up for it on Monday. In the first period alone, they were 10-15 from the deep. The spark that started this amazing performance was Bryn Forbes. The backup guard came off the bench to hit 4 threes and 14 points overall in the opening quarter. Forbes finished the game with 22 points, shooting 6-9 from beyond the arch. The leading scorer was Giannis Antetokounmpo with 31 points. Giannis also added 13 rebounds and 6 assists. Coach Budenholzer will also be happy with defensive performance. The defense was an issue for the Bucks throughout the season but they have now kept the Heat below 100 points per 48 minutes in two straight games.

For Thursday night, coach Budneholzer will have a full squad to choose from.

Notes on Miami Heat

It seems that heart-breaking defeat in Game 1 demoralized the Heat and they never really got going on Monday. In the first contest, they shot much better than the Bucks and forced 17 turnovers but still lost. In Game 2, that fire was nowhere to be found. The Heat lacked their usual grit and toughness and have let the Bucks do whatever they wanted. The big reason for this is the below-par performance of Jimmy Butler. Miami’s star has made only 8 shots in the first two games and posted a career’s worst -34. He failed to show his usual aggressiveness on both sides of the court. The same can be said about Heat’s other All-Star Bam Adebayo. The young center finished Game 2 with only 3 rebounds. Both of them will need to step up if the Heat is to survive this series.

Other than Victor Oladipo who’s out for the season, all other Miami players are available.

Betting Pick: Milwaukee -1.5

Although they failed to perform as road dogs this season, the Bucks simply look unstoppable at the moment. We probably won’t see the Game 2 blowout again, but that performance was a clear indication of the current gap between the two teams. Take the Bucks to win and cover.