The Orlando Magic will travel to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to face the Milwaukee Bucks at the Fiserv Forum with tip-off scheduled for 8:00 PM ET on Thursday night and will air on Bally Sports Florida and Bally Sports Wisconsin.

 

Orlando enters this game with a record of 16-10 which gives them the 4^th best record in the Eastern Conference, however, they are on a three-game losing streak following a 106-115 loss at home against the Miami Heat on Wednesday and are 3-5 in December.

 

The Magic have been one of the lower-scoring teams in the league as they enter this game averaging 113.24 points per game which is below the league average of 115.13 points per game, however, they have been one of the better defensive teams because they like to play at a slower tempo as they enter this game allowing the 4^th fewest points per game in the NBA with an average of 109.88 points per game.

 

The Orlando Magic will look to end their three-game skid when they travel to face the Milwaukee Bucks. 

 

The Milwaukee Bucks have the 2^nd best record in the Eastern Conference with a record of 20-7 and are on a five-game winning streak following Tuesday’s 132-119 win at home against the San Antonio Spurs. The success for Milwaukee this season can be attributed to their offensive play as they enter this matchup as the 2^nd highest-scoring team in the NBA with an average of 124.67 points per game. Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard have been the cornerstones for the team offensively as they have combined for an average of 56.9 points and 12.4 assists per game.

 

Defensively, the Bucks have been below average as they are allowing an average of 119.22 points per game which ranks 23^rd in the NBA. The Milwaukee Bucks will look to extend their winning streak to six games when they host the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.

 

BookMaker has the Milwaukee Bucks listed as 7.5-point favorites at home against the Orlando Magic on Thursday night. Milwaukee has won nine of the last ten and two of the last three meetings while going 6-4 ATS in the last ten and 2-1 ATS in the last three games in the series.

 

The Orlando Magic are 17-9 ATS overall, 6-6 ATS on the road, and 9-7 ATS as an underdog this season while the Milwaukee Bucks are 12-14-1 ATS overall, 7-8-1 ATS at home, and 11-14-1 ATS as a favorite on the year.

 

Both teams are two of the best in the Eastern Conference this season as they enter with the 4^th and 2^nd best records in the conference, however, Milwaukee has been the better team in the series, winning nine of the last ten and two of the last three meetings. The Bucks have also been the better team at covering the spread in the series as they are 6-4 ATS in the last ten and 2-1 ATS in the last three meetings.

 

As a result, I am buying the .5 point and laying the points with the Milwaukee Bucks when they host the Orlando Magic on Thursday night.