Sixers Head to Milwaukee
The Milwaukee Bucks look to move to 7-0 at home for the first time in 17 years and extend their overall win streak to six Tuesday when they meet the Philadelphia 76ers.
Milwaukee (7-4) remained perfect at home with a 97-95 victory over Dallas on Saturday and will now be looking to win its first seven games at the Bradley Center since opening 18-0 there in the 1990-91 season.
Oddsmakers from Bodog have made Milwaukee –7.5 point spread favorites (NBA Odds) for today’s game, the over/under has been set at 186.5 total points (Matchup). Our public betting information shows that 55% of bets for this game have been placed on Milwaukee –7.5 (View NBA Bet Percentages).
The win over the Mavericks was Milwaukee’s fifth straight overall after a 2-4 start, but it didn’t come easy for the Bucks, who needed a 35-point fourth quarter to pull out the victory.
There were 10 ties and 15 lead changes, including five in the last three minutes before the Bucks went ahead to stay with 1:26 to play on a pair of free throws from Mo Williams.
"It was pretty solid all the way around. It was Saturday night at the fights," Bucks coach Larry Krystowiak said. "It was kind of like a heavyweight fight. It went 15 rounds."
Michael Redd, Milwaukee’s leading scorer at 24.5 points per game, had 27 – including five free throws in the final 26 seconds to seal the win. Redd has scored at least 21 points in every game during the five-game run, including a season-high 34 last Tuesday at Cleveland.
"Our team is doing a terrific job being unselfish, playing the right way and we’re defending," Redd said. "That’s the ultimate key."
Williams had his third double-double in the last five games, recording 19 points and 10 assists. The fifth-year point guard is averaging 15.6 points and 10.0 assists during Milwaukee’s winning streak.
Philadelphia (3-9) has been in a free fall since starting the season 2-2. The Sixers have lost seven of their past eight and are trying to avoid their second four-game skid of the month.
They hung around at Detroit on Friday night before losing 83-78 and appeared to be on their way to ending their slide the next night against Golden State, leading the Warriors 57-45 at halftime. But Golden State’s big third quarter erased most of Philadelphia’s lead, and a low-scoring fourth sent the game to overtime.
Andre Iguodala made a shot with 13.4 seconds to play in the extra session to put Philadelphia up 98-97, but Kelenna Azubuike hit a 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds left to give Golden State a 100-98 victory.
"We just have to get a win, we have to do more than just compete," said Iguodala, who scored a team-high 26 points to go along with 11 rebounds and five steals.
Iguodala’s all-around game has been the lone bright spot for Philadelphia. He leads the team in scoring (18.2) and assists (5.0) and also averages 6.8 rebounds. His 4.5 turnovers a game rank near the top of the league, but without much scoring help, he’s found the ball in his hands most often down the stretch.
Philadelphia yields just 93.8 points per game, but is scoring only 89.9 a contest.
Kyle Korver, the Sixers’ second-leading scorer last season, has missed the last four games with a groin strain. He is questionable for Tuesday.
The Bucks have won four of the last six meetings between these teams, including both games in Milwaukee last season.
By: Marc Young – theSpread.com – Email Us
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