Category: Basketball

It’s Saturday, March 15, and the Indiana Pacers (37-28) and Milwaukee Bucks (37-28) are all set to square off from Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

The Pacers are currently 16-18 on the road with a point differential of 1, while the Bucks have a 6-4 record in their last ten games at home. Milwaukee is 2-1 in the season series but Indiana won the most recent matchup on Tuesday thanks to Tyrese Haliburton's game-winning four-point play.

Milwaukee is 8-4 since the All-Star break but 1-3 over the past four games. Indiana has won two straight but is 2-3 over the past five games.

We’ve got all the info and analysis you need to know ahead of the game, including the latest info on how to catch tipoff, odds, recent team performance, player stats, and of course, our predictions, picks & best bets for the game from our modeling tools and staff of experts.

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Game details & how to watch Pacers vs. Bucks live today

• Date: Saturday, March 15, 2025
• Time: 8:00PM EST
• Site: Fiserv Forum
• City: Milwaukee, WI
• Network/Streaming:

Never miss a second of the action and stay up to date with all the latest team stats and player news. Check out our day-by-day NBA schedule page, along with detailed matchup pages that update live in-game.

Game odds for Pacers vs. Bucks

The latest odds as of Saturday:

• Odds: Pacers (+154), Bucks (-185)
• Spread:  Bucks -4.5
• Over/Under: 236 points

That gives the Pacers an implied team point total of 117.11, and the Bucks 119.46.

Want to know which sportsbook is offering the best lines for every game on the NBA calendar? Check out the NBC Sports’ Live Odds tool to get all the latest updated info from DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM & more!

Expert picks & predictions for Saturday’s Pacers vs. Bucks game

NBC Sports Bet Best Bet

Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports) likes the Bucks to cover:

"These teams just met on Tuesday and the Pacers won on a miracle four-point play. This is an easy handicap. It's Bucks or pass for me. The loser of the previous meeting during the same week often covers or wins the second matchup and the Bucks have plenty of motivation."

Please bet responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.

Our model calculates projections around each moneyline, spread and over/under bet for every game on the NBA calendar based on data points like recent performance, head-to-head player matchups, trends information and projected game totals.

Once the model is finished running, we put its projections next to the latest betting lines for the game to arrive at a relative confidence level for each wager.

Here are the best bets our model is projecting for today’s Pacers & Bucks game:

• Moneyline: NBC Sports Bet is recommending a play on the Milwaukee Bucks on the Moneyline.
• Spread: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play ATS on the Indiana Pacers at +4.
• Total: NBC Sports Bet is leaning towards a play on the under on the Game Total of 236.

Want even more NBA best bets and predictions from our expert staff & tools? Check out the Expert NBA Predictions pagefrom NBC Sports for money line, spread and over/under picks for every game on today’s calendar!

Important stats, trends & insights to know ahead of Pacers vs. Bucks on Saturday

• The Bucks have won four of their last five home games against teams with winning records
• The under is 4-1 in the Bucks' last five matchups against divisional opponents
• The Bucks have covered the spread in four of their last five games against teams with winning records
• The Bucks have won and covered the handicap in four of their last five home games against teams with winning records and they can make the most of a scheduling advantage here, with the Pacers having played a tough game against the 76ers last night.

If you’re looking for more key trends and stats around the spread, moneyline and total for every single game on the schedule today, check out our NBA Top Trends tool on NBC Sports!

Follow our experts on socials to keep up with all the latest content from the staff:

- Jay Croucher (@croucherJD)

- Drew Dinsick (@whale_capper)

- Vaughn Dalzell (@VmoneySports)

- Brad Thomas (@MrBradThomas)

With a month to go in the NBA season, there are eight teams (conservatively, you could argue 10) more focused as an organization on lottery odds than winning games. Or, to put it bluntly, they are tanking with their eyes on Cooper Flagg. That means a lot of good players are missing games for dodgy reasons.

The NBA is pushing those teams to keep their best players on the court. The league already fined the Utah Jazz $100,000 for not playing Lauri Markkanen against the Wizards and in other games — and, shockingly, he was suddenly available for the next game after the fine. Now, Shams Charania of ESPN reports that both the Thunder and 76ers are being investigated for violating the league's Player Participation Policy.

The Thunder are not tanking — they have run away with the West at 54-12 — but on March 7 they sat six key players (Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jalen Williams, Chet Holmgren, Luguentz Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein and Cason Wallace) in what was still a home win over the Portland Trail Blazers. Only two of those players, Gilgeous-Alexander and Williams, meet the NBA's qualifications for a star player under the league's Player Participation Policy (an All-Star the last three years), but sitting that many players raised eyebrows. Still, this was a home game that was not nationally televised, so it's a little difficult to get worked up over OKC's decision.

The league is investigating Philadelphia "for the recent absences of players such as Paul George (knee, back, finger) and Tyrese Maxey (back, finger)," according to the ESPN report. George has admitted he is playing through pain and, with the 76ers season all but over, he will be meeting with doctors about treatment for his knee and groin/back issues. It seems challenging to blame him for not playing through pain. Don't expect to see a lot of Maxey, either.

Philadelphia has real motivation to tank. Its first-round pick this year belongs to Oklahoma City but is top-six protected. Philly is trying to tank its way into keeping that pick, the 76ers are currently tied with the Nets for the 5th/6th worst record in the NBA. If the Sixers can hold on to the fifth-worst spot, they have a 62.1% chance of retaining that top-six pick after the lottery. It would be shocking if we see George again this season, Embiid is already out for the season to get treatment on his knee (although no definitive plan has been released) and expect Maxey to be limited.

Again, is that worth the league's fine? Where is that line?

The first fine for violating the league's Player Participation Policy is $100,000 — enough to get a team's attention, but this is the cost of a 10-day contract to teams, so it will not break them. However, a second violation is $250,000 and the third $1 million — teams can live with the first fine but want to avoid climbing that ladder.

Which will make the final month of the season interesting for teams such as Toronto (Scottie Barnes qualifies for the Player Participation Policy) and others trying to tank but avoid a fine. It's a fine line everyone is trying to walk.