- The Milwaukee Bucks are now the -125 betting favorites to win their second round series against the Boston Celtics.
- Milwaukee defeated Boston 101-89 in Game 1 of the series on Sunday afternoon to steal homecourt advantage.
- The Bucks opened as the +135 underdogs in the series.
The defending champions Milwaukee Bucks entered their second-round playoff series against the no. 2 seed Boston Celtics as the betting underdogs. But after beating Boston convincingly 101-89 on Sunday afternoon, the Bucks have assumed the title of odds-on-favorite to win the series.
Giannis Puts Up a Triple Double
Giannis Antetokounmpo puts up a TRIPLE DOUBLE with 24 PTS, 13 REB & 12 AST as the Bucks DEFEAT the Celtics in Game 1 🔥 pic.twitter.com/9Jc7Y1UEGy
— Basketball Forever (@Bballforeverfb) May 1, 2022
Despite shooting only 9-25 from the field, Giannis Antetokounmpo finished with 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 12 assists for his second career postseason triple-double. His assists total didn’t even include the one he gave to himself when he ridiculously threw the ball off the backboard and caught it back for a dunk.
GIANNIS. IS. RIDICULOUS. 😳 pic.twitter.com/nQjitPQzZK
— NBA TV (@NBATV) May 1, 2022
With his performance, Antetokounmpo thus joins LeBron James, Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain, and Russell Westbrook as the only players in NBA history to have multiple 20-12-12 playoff games. He also becomes the only player in Milwaukee Bucks history to record more than one playoff triple-double.
Antetokounmpo scored the final 10 points of the first quarter as the Bucks rallied from a seven-point deficit to lead by three points at the end of one period. He also scored the last six points of the second quarter as Milwaukee took a 56-46 lead at the half and never looked back. Giannis’ alley-oop to himself gave the Bucks their largest lead of the game at 94-78.
Updated Series Odds
Updated Series Odds
Milwaukee Bucks -125
Boston Celtics +105Via @DaveMasonBOL
— BetOnline.ag (@betonline_ag) May 1, 2022
After stealing home-court advantage with their Game 1 win, the Bucks have changed the narrative of their series. Milwaukee entered Game 1 as +135 underdogs to beat Boston in their seven-game series. But after beating the Celtics at the TD Garden on Sunday afternoon, the Bucks are now the -125 betting favorites to win the series, with the Celtics now listed at +105 odds. Game 2 will be in Boston on Tuesday night with the Celtics opening as -4.5 points spread and -175 Moneyline favorites via the BetOnline App.
But while the Celtics are favored to win Game 2, there are still three games scheduled to be played at the Fiserv Forum where the Bucks are 29-15 SU this season. Boston has an impressive 25-18 SU mark away from home but they hav struggled against the Bucks as of late. Head to head, the Bucks have won each of the last three games against the Celtics. Milwaukee is also 4-1 SU in their last five home games against Boston.
The Celtics entered the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league, winning 26 out of its final 32 regular-season games. They blitzed the Brooklyn Nets in the opening round series, sweeping the Nets in four games. Now, it’s the Bucks who are red hot as they have won four in a row in the playoffs.
