The Milwaukee Bucks won their first game of the 2020-21 NBA Finals on Sunday as Giannis Antetokounmpo’s 41-point effort helped them to a 120-100 win over the Phoenix Suns. Now, the Bucks have a chance to even on Wednesday as Game 4 is scheduled for 9:00 p.m. EST in Milwaukee, WI.
Here’s a look at Bovada’s odds for Wednesday’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals.
NBA Finals Odds: Phoenix Suns vs Milwaukee Bucks Game 4
Odds via Bovada as of Tuesday, July 13
- Series: PHX leads 2-1
- Time: 9:00 p.m. EST
- Moneyline: Suns (+160) vs Bucks (-180)
- Point Spread: Suns: +4.5 (-115), Bucks: -4.5 (-105)
- Total: 220.5 — Over (-110), Under (-110)
Can the Suns Regain the Two-Game Series Lead?
Through most of the first two games of the NBA Finals, it looked like the Suns were going to cruise to a championship victory. However, after back-to-back 40-point performances by Antetokounmpo, it’s obvious that Phoenix needs to tighten up its interior defense. For context, the Suns were outscored 54-40 in the paint in Game 3. It certainly doesn’t help that that Milwaukee also outrebounded them 47-36. One way the Suns can address that issue is if Deandre Ayton starts to get going. He’s averaging 14.0 PPG and 10.0 RPG over the past two games, which is a disappointment compared to how he was playing as he came out of the third-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Suns are also going to need Devin Booker to have a bounce-back performance following a disappointing showing in Game 3. Booker ended the night with just 10 points on .214/.143/.600 shooting. The shots just weren’t falling for him, as he hit just three of his 14 attempted field goals. Considering how he was talked about as being a potential NBA Finals MVP candidate after Game 2, Booker better look like his old self on Wednesday.
Bucks Looking to Even NBA Finals
A lot of people had their doubts about Antetokounmpo ahead of the 2020-21 NBA Finals. After all, he had sustained a knee injury against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Finals and nobody knew how he’d perform with the championship on the line. Well, those worries are a think of the best as the ‘Greek Freak’ has looked nothing short of elite over the past two games. He’s averaging 41.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 5 assists between Games 2 and 3, which shows you exactly what level Antetokounmpo is playing on. If he can keep that up on Wednesday, Milwaukee has got to like its odds (-180) of winning.
Respect also has to be given to a guy like Jrue Holiday, who finished Game 3 with 21 points, 9 assists and was a team-high +22 on the night. In fact, the Bucks played some great defense as a team, forcing the Suns to turn over the ball 14 times while only turning it over nine times themselves.
Aside from defense, Milwaukee just played better as a whole team on Sunday. The Bucks finished the game with .478/.389/.769 shooting splits, which was a lot better than how the Suns performed (.482/.290/.688). As long as Milwaukee can continue scoring from the paint and being at least average from the 3-point line, they have a pretty realistic shot at tying up the NBA Finals. All that’s left for them to do is go out there and do it on Wednesday.
