NBA picks: Pacers vs. Bucks prediction, odds, over/under, spread, injury report for Wednesday, Dec. 13
Central division rivals square off when the Indiana Pacers (13-8) visit the Milwaukee Bucks (16-7) Wednesday evening. The Pacers are coming into this contest winning of their last five, with the lone loss being in the In-Season Tournament final. The Bucks have three of their last four, with the lone loss coming to Indiana in the In-Season Tournament semifinal. These teams have met twice this season, with the Pacers taking both games.
Andrew Nembhard and Jalen Smith are out for the Pacers, while Jae Crowder and Pat Connaughton remain sidelined for the Bucks.
The Bucks are 6.5-point favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook, with the total coming in at 259. Milwaukee is priced at -250 on the moneyline while Indiana comes in at +205.
Pacers vs. Bucks, 8 p.m. ET
Pick ATS: Pacers +6.5
Indiana is one of the better teams against the number this season at 13-9, while Milwaukee is on the opposite side of the spectrum at 9-13-1. The Bucks are 4-7-1 ATS as the home team this season, although they are 11-2 straight up at Fiserv Forum. The Pacers are 5-3 ATS as the road team this season and more importantly, have two wins over Milwaukee already.
The Bucks, along with several other top teams, might’ve overlooked the Pacers early in this 2023-24 season. That’s unlikely to be the case tonight, especially with Milwaukee already dropping two games to this side. The Bucks probably get the win at home, but I’ll take the Pacers to keep things close and cover the spread.
Over/Under: Under 259
These are the highest scoring teams in the league, with Indiana averaging 128.5 points per game and Milwaukee putting up 122.6 points per game. The Pacers are 28th in defensive rating and the Bucks are 22nd, which means there might not be a ton of resistance in this contest. Despite all this offense, both games from earlier this season went under this number, mostly because it is outrageously high. Unless this game goes to overtime, I’ll once again stick with the under.
