The New York Knicks (22-18, 10-10 home) welcome the Milwaukee Bucks (25-14, 9-9 away) to the Big Apple in an Eastern Conference tilt. This is the third and final meeting of the regular season between these two teams, with the Bucks owning a 2-0 head-to-head record to-date.
Monday’s scheduled tipoff is at 7:30 p.m. EST inside Madison Square Garden in New York, New York. Milwaukee comes in as a two-point road favorite, and the over/under total is 222 points.
What to Know – Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee will try and bounce back after suffering a blowout, 138-109, loss at home to the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday. The Bucks are tied with the Cleveland Cavaliers for third in the Eastern Conference standings.
On offense, the Bucks are 19th in the league scoring 112.4 points per game while shooting 45.5% from the floor and 34.3% from the 3-point line. The Bucks defense is ninth in the NBA, limiting opponents to 111.2 points, 45.3% shooting from the field, and 34.7% from beyond the arc.
Forward Giannis Antetokounmpo is third in the league in both scoring and rebounding, pouring in 32.0 points and grabbing 11.8 rebounds per game. Jur Holiday is second on the Bucks averaging 18.2 points per contest.
The Bucks are 20-17-2 against the spread this season with a 6-10-2 mark ATS on the road. Milwaukee is 4-0-1 ATS in its previous five games against the Knicks.
What to Know – New York Knicks
The Knicks aim to pick up a key conference victory and run their winning streak to five games in a row. New York sits in seventh place in the East Conference, six games back of the leading Boston Celtics.
New York ranks 15th in the NBA, averaging 114.2 points per game and hitting 45.7% of their shots from the field and 34.1% from deep. Defensively, the Knicks rank 10th amongst league teams surrendering 111.3 points per game, 45.2% shooting from the floor, and 34.1% from three.
Julius Randle paces the Knicks offense scoring 24.4 points per game. The forward averages a double-double, adding 10.0 boards per contest. Jalen Brunson comes in also averaging 20.9 points, connecting on 40.9% of his shots from three over the last ten games.
The Knicks are 21-17-2 ATS this year and 7-11-2 ATS inside Madison Square Garden. New York is 7-3 ATS over its last ten matchups against opponents from the Eastern Conference.
The Pick is In
Monday’s marquee matchup in the NBA features two teams that are very similar on paper. The Bucks have the advantage with NBA MVP hopeful Antetokounmpo and have taken advantage of the Knicks in the first two matchups.
The old saying goes, “it is hard to beat a team three times in a row,” and we like the current play of the Knicks heading into this one. Give us New York on the moneyline at home.
The Pick: New York Knicks ML
