It’s a big Sunday of Game 7s in the NBA playoff odds market, starting with the Eastern Conference semifinal between the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics. The road team snagged wins in Games 5 and 6, pushing this series to the brink.
Defending champion Milwaukee is trying to find its way back to the NBA Finals. But Boston is a solid favorite to send the Bucks off into a long, hot summer.
Props.com dives into NBA playoff odds for Bucks vs. Celtics Game 7. Check back for updates through Sunday’s tipoff.
Odds via PointsBet USA and updated as of 5 p.m. ET Saturday.
NBA Playoff Odds and Betting Action
No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks vs No. 2 Boston Celtics (8:30 p.m. ET)
UPDATE 2 P.M. ET SUNDAY: Ninety minutes before Game 7 tips off, Boston is at -5 (105) in PointsBet’s Sunday NBA playoff odds market. On Friday night, the Celtics opened at -5 flat, and there was no movement until about an hour ago, down to -4.5.
The line then toggled between -4.5 flat, -5 (-105) and -4.5 (-115), before setting in at -5 (-105). Underdog Milwaukee is netting 72% of spread bets and 61% of spread dollars at PointsBet.
The total opened at 209 and initially nudged up to 209.5 late Friday night, but has since plunged to 205.5 (Under -115). The Over is drawing 57% of bets, while 74% of cash is on the Under.
UPDATE 5 P.M. ET SATURDAY: After dumping Game 5 at home, Boston was on the brink of elimination. The Celtics trailed the best-of-7 series 3-2 and faced a daunting road trip against the defending champs. But the Celts were up to the task, leading most of Game 6 while notching a 108-95 victory as 1.5-point underdogs Friday.
Boston (58-34 SU, 51-39-2 ATS) is 20-8-1 ATS in its last 29 games. Further, the Celtics sport positive ATS streaks of 9-3-1 off a SU win and 26-12-1 laying points.
After winning and cashing in Game 1, the Bucks are 1-3-1 ATS in the last five games of this series. Milwaukee is also just 8-18 ATS in its last 25 as a road underdog. However, the Bucks have covered in eight of their last 10 roadies overall, including Game 5.
With the Game 6 cover, Boston improved to 12-3-1 ATS in its last 16 games against Milwaukee, though the two teams have split those games SU. Boston is also 5-2 ATS in its last seven home meetings against Milwaukee.
Game 6 fell well short of the 212.5 total, ending a two-game Over run and giving the Under a 4-2 mark in this playoff series. That’s after an 8-2 Over run in the previous 10 Bucks-Celtics meetings. The Under is also 9-2 in these playoffs for Milwaukee. All that noted, the Over is 17-7-1 in the last 25 Bucks-Celtics clashes in Boston.
Late Friday night, BetMGM opened Boston -5.5 (-105) on its Sunday NBA playoff odds board, and that number hasn’t budged as of early Saturday evening. Milwaukee is drawing 71% of early spread bets and 59% of early spread money. The total has bounced around, opening at 207.5, peaking shortly thereafter at 208.5, then dipping to 206.5 this afternoon. The Over is seeing 62% of early bets, but 85% of early dollars are on the Under.
Check back prior to tipoff for additional updates on Celtics vs. Bucks odds and betting action.