MILWAUKEE @ GOLDEN STATE (MIL -3.5, 230.5)
NBA ODDS, NBA PREDICTIONS, NBA PREVIEWS
BUCKS @ WARRIORS 3/18/25
When the Milwaukee Bucks begin a five-game road trip against Golden State in San Francisco tonight, they hope to strengthen their postseason standing. The Indiana Pacers and the Bucks (38-29) are tied for fourth place in the Eastern Conference, the final berth that grants home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Milwaukee is only one game ahead of the sixth-place Detroit Pistons but five games behind the third-place New York Knicks after losing 121-105 at home to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday after defeating the Los Angeles Lakers and Pacers. Coach Doc Rivers conveyed the message that every game matters during the flight to San Francisco.
During their nine-day trip, the Bucks will also play the Lakers, Sacramento Kings, Phoenix Suns, and Denver Nuggets—all of whom are currently in the Western Conference playoffs.
The Warriors will face a resurgent Giannis Antetokounmpo, who recorded a triple-double against Oklahoma City (21 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists), one night after being dominated by Aaron Gordon of the Nuggets. The consistent MVP contender has accumulated double-digit rebounds ten times in his last 12 games and scored 30 points or more in four of his last seven games. On March 4, he recorded another triple-double in Atlanta. In February, Antetokounmpo missed the Warriors' 125-111 victory at Milwaukee due to a strained calf. In his last five games against Golden State, he has averaged 29.4 points.
The Warriors (39-29), who had a chance to move up one game against Minnesota in their battle for sixth place in the Western Conference, suffered a costly loss on Monday. The Pacers defeated the Timberwolves earlier in the evening.
Golden State coach Steve Kerr stated that there is too much at stake at this late point in the season to be resting anyone, even though his team burned Stephen Curry for 36 minutes and Jimmy Butler III and Draymond Green for 33 each against the Nuggets.
In just his second game with Golden State, Butler—who started his career as a Bucks rival while playing for the Chicago Bulls—contributed 20 points, nine rebounds, six assists, and four steals to the victory at Milwaukee last month. Butler had 23 points on Monday against the Nuggets. It was the first time he led the Warriors in scoring in his 16 games as a Warrior.
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COACH RICK FREE PICK:
DAMIAN LILLARD OVER 6.5 ASSISTS
Lillard crushed this number in 3 of his last 4 games, including two games with double-digit assists. He averages 7.1 assists per game for the season. For the season, Lillard has gone Over this number in 57 percent (33 of 58) of his games. He’s gone Over 6.5 dimes in 2 of the last 3 against Golden State, including the one meeting so far this season. He had 7 assists on Feb. 10 in Milwaukee’s 125-111 win over Golden State. The Warriors give up 25.8 assists per game, 8th-most in the NBA.