Category: Basketball

Basketball News

Posted on

Pacers vs. Bucks Predictions: Odds, expert picks, recent stats, trends and best bets for March 15

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.

Listen to the Rotoworld Basketball Show for the latest fantasy player news, waiver claims, roster advice and more from our experts all season long. Click here or download it wherever you get your podcasts.

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)

Posted on

Nets’ Cam Thomas expected to miss rest of season with hamstring strain

Nets star Cam Thomas suffered a left hamstring strain during Thursday night’s loss to the Chicago Bulls. 

The team announced Saturday that given the number of days left in the schedule and the time it would take to work his way back to full health, the 23-year-old is expected to be out the remainder of the season. 

This is Thomas’ third hamstring ailment this year -- limiting him to just 25 games.

He has, however, remained a scoring machine when healthy -- averaging a career-high 24 points over that span while putting together a team-leading six 30+ point showings, including a season-high 43 points on Nov. 15 against the Knicks. 

He notched his first career double-double in his final game of the year (24 points, 10 assists). 

It’ll be interesting to see how the rebuilding Nets handle things with Thomas this offseason, as he is currently in the final year of his rookie deal and is set to be a restricted free agent at season's end. 

He appeared to be headed for a big payday coming into this year, but we’ll see if the injury-plagued season affects that.

Posted on

Evans, Timberlake power Bryant to 77-59 win over Maine for America East Tournament championship

Barry Evans scored 19 points, Earl Timberlake added 17 and top-seeded Bryant cruised to the America East championship, defeating No. 3-seed Maine 77-59 on Saturday. The Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second time, having made their other trip when they won the Northeast Conference in 2022. Bryant led by 11 points at halftime and maintained control through the first 11 minutes of the second half, outscoring Maine 23-13.

Posted on

NBA reportedly investigating Thunder, 76ers for Player Participation Policy violations

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.

Posted on

Villanova fires coach Kyle Neptune after 3 years and no NCAA Tournament appearances

Villanova fired Kyle Neptune on Saturday after a three-year run where he succeeded Hall of Fame coach Jay Wright and failed to ever make the NCAA Tournament. Neptune went 54-47 overall and 31-29 in the Big East in three seasons with the Wildcats, including a 19-14 record this season. The Wildcats — who won two national championships under Wright — lost to UConn on Thursday night in a Big East Conference Tournament quarterfinal at Madison Square Garden.

Posted on

Watch Jamal Murray sink dagger into Lakers; Nuggets hold on for win at home

NBA: Los Angeles Lakers at Denver Nuggets

Mar 14, 2025; Denver, Colorado, USA; Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray (27) reacts after a play in the third quarter against the Los Angeles Lakers at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

These games happen in the NBA. There was no LeBron James or Luka Doncic for the Lakers, but with the chance to shine, other guys stepped up — Austin Reaves scored 37, Dalton Knecht had 32 with five 3-pointers, and Los Angeles just played hard. Meanwhile, Denver played like they expected the Lakers to roll over.

Fortunately, with the game on the line, Nikola Jokic set a massive (moving?) screen, taking out two defenders, which opened the door for Jamal Murray to save the day for the Nuggets.

It was an ugly win for the Nuggets, but after rough losses to top teams (Boston, Oklahoma City, Minnesota), they needed the win. That doesn't mean Michael Malone was happy about it, he walked into his postgame press conference, crumpled up the stat sheet and threw it away. The win moved the Nuggets back up to No. 2 in the West.

Jokic finished the game with 28 points, seven rebounds, and five assists — a great night for most players but a pedestrian one for him.

The Lakers went 0-4 on their road trip and will have to continue without LeBron James (groin strain) for another week or so, but now come home for four games, with a couple of winnable ones to start against Phoenix Sunday (nationally televised), followed by the very shorthanded Spurs. Then they get another shot at Denver.

Posted on

'They told me to go play, so I go play.' Austin Reaves can carry the Lakers when asked

Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves, right, drives past Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray.
Lakers guard Austin Reaves, right, drives past Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray during the first half of Friday's game. (David Zalubowski / Associated Press)

Inside a locker room, geography matters and Friday night in Denver, Austin Reaves was in the big seat.

Using the space typically assigned to LeBron James inside the Nuggets’ visiting locker room, Reaves sat closest to the showers, players passing him on their way in and out after they’d fumbled a chance to stun Denver.

Cam Reddish, Christian Koloko, Jordan Goodwin — each one passed by the space only to briefly stop and get a quick word of encouragement from the lone Lakers starter who played Friday night.

They were fully under the watch of Reaves, the unquestioned third member of the Lakers’ big three who nearly carried his team minus James and Luka Doncic to a win in Denver on the second night of a back-to-back minus 60% of its 10-man rotation.

Read more:Austin Reaves' 37-point effort not enough as Lakers fall to Denver in wild finish

But his 37 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds and four steals weren’t enough — numbers so special that they’ve been accomplished only seven other times, Reaves joining Doncic, James, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Pete Maravich, Bernard King and Kenny Anderson as the select few to have done it.

Earlier this year, minus James and Doncic, Reaves scored 45 points with seven rebounds and seven assists, numbers equaled only 25 times in Lakers history by a list of the organization’s greats. Elgin Baylor did it 10 times. Kobe Bryant did it six. Jerry West had at least 45-7-7 four times. Magic Johnson did it once. And then there’s Reaves.

“Looks weird when you see my name up there,” Reaves said after that game against the Indiana Pacers.

Maybe it’s time to stop being so surprised.

For what it’s worth, Reaves isn’t that shocked, having been confident enough to tell people around him he was going to matter for the Lakers as an undrafted rookie on a two-way contract after one day of minicamp.

“I’ve weirdly been confident for a long time,” Reaves said Friday night, his feet and ankles soaking in ice. “It’s just being on the stage for the world to see. But I tell you all the time, I just try to play the game the right way. And when shots fall, it looks good. And when shots don’t fall, everybody’s ready to kill me. Everybody in the locker room did what they had to do to win. And unfortunately, we didn’t get it done.”

The Lakers, in all honestly, probably should have.

They led by three in the final minute after back-to-back steals by Reaves led to transition points, starting with one in which he ripped the ball away from annual most valuable player candidate Nikola Jokic.

The second steal led to a Dalton Knecht dunk, with Knecht landing scarily on his back and head after he lost his grip and slipped off the rim. JJ Redick ran to check on Knecht as Denver called timeout and was late back into his huddle.

The Nuggets came out and attacked Koloko, who rarely plays, Jokic quickly scoring and drawing a foul to tie the game.

“I didn’t have time to really get us the right substitutions and matchups that I would have wanted,” Redick said. “And that’s not a knock on CK, but I just kind of put him in a tough spot knowing that Jokic was going to go quick.”

After Reaves’ jumper rimmed out, Denver created an open Jamal Murray three off a screen from Jokic, and like he’s done multiple times before, the Denver guard hit the game’s biggest shot.

“Losing sucks,” Reaves said. “But I’m happy with what these guys in the locker room did tonight.”

As the Lakers head back to Los Angeles on a four-game losing streak, Reaves’ last two games are one of the few slivers of encouragement after the 26-year-old-guard shook off any rust from a two-game absence because of a calf strain this month. He’s also been dealing with right wrist pain and wore a large ice pack on his shooting arm after he scored 28 against Milwaukee on Thursday.

Friday, James was courtside in Sacramento watching his son Bryce and Sierra Canyon win a state title while he recovers from a groin strain. Starters Jaxson Hayes and Rui Hachimura also were not with the team because of knee injuries. Doncic, who scored 45 against the Bucks, didn’t play because of calf and ankle injury management. Key bench players Gabe Vincent (knee) and Dorian Finney-Smith (ankle) also sat out.

Reaves acknowledged all the absences left him wondering whether he should get one too, with only James having played more minutes for the Lakers this season.

“They told me to go play, so I go play,” Reaves said afterward.

If the Lakers were Reaves’ team Friday, that isn’t expected be the case much longer. The trade for Doncic ensured he’d be the team’s primary creator for the remainder of his contract — and beyond, if the Lakers can keep him. James also will be back to dominate possessions as he’s having an All-NBA-type season, meaning Reaves will be taking a step back and tasked with making the biggest adjustment of the three.

Reaves is a critical part of all that, and finding lanes for him to lead like this — whether he’s in the big seat or not — is a major task for the final month of the regular season.

“Austin has done a great job throughout his career of just like figuring it out. And you don’t always figure it out in a week or a month,” Redick said before Thursday’s game, adding: “There’s a lot of stuff that has happened over the last six weeks. He’s been phenomenal this season. We have a lot of confidence in him as a player. We have a lot of confidence in the duo of him and Luca together. And X-and-O-wise, he’s going to play on ball. He’s going to play off ball. We’ll have a ton of opportunities once we get LeBron back. Those two guys have such great synergy and chemistry. They’re incredibly intelligent players and really understand how to play off of each other.

“And then, I think you’ve seen it when we’ve been whole, the guys have really learned how to play with Luka. And we’ve gotten some good stuff when we’ve been organized.”

Sign up for our weekly newsletter on all things Lakers.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.