Every day during the NBA Playoffs, The Athletic’s NBA writers will make their picks straight up. We put our picks and all series coverage, plus the latest odds, all in one place for fans to easily digest and follow. Our in-depth coverage from every team is linked below the picks. If you’d like a free year of The Athletic (or an extension!), BetMGM is running a special offer, which also includes $100 in bonus bets.
Game 6 – Brooklyn Nets at Milwaukee Bucks (-5.5)
Total: 220.5
Pick | |
---|---|
Ethan Strauss |
|
Seth Partnow |
|
Richard Deitsch |
|
Sam Vecenie |
GAME 5: NETS 114, BUCKS 108
Series: Nets lead series 3-2
This game will go down as a bullet point on Kevin Durant’s Hall of Fame resume. Without Kyrie Irving and with James Harden clearly nowhere near 100 percent, Durant carried the Nets to a comeback victory at home. Durant finished with 49 points (on a ridiculous 16-for-23 shooting), 17 rebounds and 10 assists.
The Bucks led by 16 points at halftime and Harden was struggling, but Durant did enough to rally his team. Jeff Green also had a huge 27 points on 7-for-8 shooting from 3-point range. Harden was 1-for-10 from the field and didn’t reach double figures in any stat, but did log 45 minutes. His health will be big going forward, but after Durant’s masterpiece, the Nets are now clearly favored to win the series. They are -275 to advance despite being +180 on the moneyline for Game 6.
NBA Playoffs picks records
Record | |
---|---|
Sam Vecenie |
45-21 |
Richard Deitsch |
42-24 |
Ethan Strauss |
40-24 |
Seth Partnow |
39-27 |
NBA Playoffs
NBA Power Rankings: Who are the biggest title threats left in the playoffs?
NBA Playoff Betting Guide: Daily picks, odds, team rankings and win probabilities
Scores & schedule | NBA podcasts | Complete NBA coverage
(Photo of Kevin Durant: Elsa / Getty Images; The Athletic may receive an affiliate commission if you open an account with BetMGM through links contained in the above article.)
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