The Milwaukee Bucks travel to FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee, to take on the Memphis Grizzlies in Thursday night NBA basketball action beginning at 8 pm EST. The Bucks are currently favored by 6-points while the total stands at 235-points, up from 234.5-points at the opening.
The Bucks ended a 5-game win streak in their last outing as they fell at home in blowout fashion to the Denver Nuggets Tuesday night as the road team jumped out to a 14-point halftime lead and never looked back en route to sending Milwaukee to its 14th loss of the year. The Bucks gave up over 50% shooting in the contest along with 37% from long-range while Milwaukee made just 41% of their shot while connecting on just 28% from deep. Giannis Antetokounmpo led with 27 points on an efficient shooting night while Khris Middleton also posted 20 points on 6-12 shooting (3-6 3FG). The Bucks failed to cover as 8-point favorites, yet, are 4-2 ATS in their last 6.
The Grizzlies won their 2nd-straight outing after taking out the Washington Wizards on the road by 14-points Tuesday night as a huge 2nd quarter propelled them to victory. The team boasted 7 double-digit scorers with Ja Morant leading the way with 35 points and 10 assists on an efficient 11-18 FG performance. Dillon Brooks along with DeAnthony Melton each posted 20 apiece as the latter shot 6-10 from 3-point range. And while the Grizzlies gave up 51% shooting to the Wizards, they also forced 22 turnovers, 14 total by Russell Westbrook and Bradley Beal. Memphis covered the spread as 1-point dogs for the contest and are 3-1 ATS in their last 4 outings.
Milwaukee has a slight edge in terms of wins and loss in recent matchups versus the Grizzlies winning 6 of their last 10 meetings while going 3-3 SU in their last 6 at FedEx Forum. Each of these teams have split the spread in their last 10 matchups with the Grizzlies going 3-3 ATS in their last 6 at home versus the Bucks.
Bucks destroyed by Nuggets in loss
Milwaukee ended their 5-game winning streak in horrible fashion falling at home for just the 5th time this season by 31-points versus a Denver team that was red-hot from the field (56%). In fact, the Bucks were hammered in the paint by a margin of 56-32 for the contest with Nikola Jokic posting a triple-double with 37 points, 10 rebounds, along with 11 dimes. Antetokounmpo and Middleton led the way on the offensive end while Brook Lopez went 4-8 from the floor with 12 points; However, the remainder of the starters shot just 2-10 from the field along with 2-7 from long-range as the Bucks could only muster 97 points on the night.
They seek to rebound versus a Grizzlies team that they have put up decent offensive numbers against in recent meetings. In fact, the team is averaging 113 points in their last 5 matchups; However, Milwaukee was able to post just 106 in their most recent April of last year.
In this contest, Antetokounmpo played just 17 minutes while ending with just 2 points while Middleton shot 5-13 from the field for 14 points. Lopez paced the team with 19 points and 9 boards despite missing 6 of 8 from deep while Donte DiVincenzo ended with 17 points on 7-13 shooting (3-5 from long-range) while committing 5 turnovers.
Morant continues to shine for Grizzlies in win
Morant was able to rebound from only a 6-point, 7 rebound performance versus the Houston Rockets to post 35 and 10 dimes versus the Wizards as he increased his shooting percentages on the year to 46% FG. He was not only able to find quality looks often in the contest, but, was able to get his teammates involved as well as he has done in his last 5 games (averaging just under 9 assists during this time). Melton is averaging 17 points per game in his last 3 outings and is not only making 47% of his shots from the floor, but 41% from deep on the season.
Dillon Brooks was able to atone for an 8-point performance versus the Rockets to post 20 in the contest while Jonas Valanciunas continued to rack up double-doubles with 11 points and 16 boards, his 8th in 10 games. With the win, the Grizzlies moved a game over .500 on the season to go a half-game ahead of the Dallas Mavericks for 2nd in the Southwest division. However, they remain 2 games behind the San Antonio Spurs for the top spot.
Morant struggled in his last outing versus the Bucks shooting just 5-17 from the floor while missing all 4 of his treys for 12 points. On the other hand, he posted 13 rebounds while also dishing out 10 assists in the 13-point home win in April of 2020. Valanciunas posted a triple-double with 26 points, 19 rebounds, and 12 assists while Brooks finished with 31 points while going 4-7 from long-range as the Grizzlies made 50% of their shots while nailing 13 3-pointers. Important to note that Morant committed 6 of the team's 18 turnovers in the victory while the Grizzlies held shorthanded Milwaukee to only 40% shooting.
Notable Trends
- Grizzlies are 2-4 ATS in last 6 home meetings.
- Bucks are 4-2 ATS in last 6 games.