NBA Basketball
2026-02-27 - New York Knicks at Milwaukee Bucks
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States : NBA Basketball
Friday 27th February 2026 - Scheduled 8pm
1pm (British Time)
Preview
The only question on the mind of any Milwaukee Bucks (26-31) fan at the trade deadline was whether the team were going to keep Giannis Antetokounmpo or trade away the big star on the roster? Ultimately the team have decided that they will kick that decision down the road into the off-season and the fight is on to find a way into the Playoffs.
The Greek Freak has not played for over a month either side of the All Star Break and the Bucks are currently outside the Play In Tournament positions in the Eastern Conference. However, they are just 2 games behind the Number 9 Seed and Milwaukee have won eight of their last ten games to give Giannis Antetokounmpo something to motivate him to return to the court.
He is not likely to play on Friday, but Doc Rivers believes Antetokounmpo is on the right track and those left on the roster have rallied for the team.
The last two wins have been against teams currently above them in the standings and Milwaukee will next take aim at a New York Knicks (37-22) team struggling for some consistency.
Since the All Star Break, the Knicks have won two tight games and suffered a couple of losses and this is a team that are still looking to really understand the concepts Head Coach Mike Brown is instilling. There have been positive runs for the Knicks, including winning the NBA Cup, but this is a fanbase that will only consider this a successful season if they win the NBA Championship.
Offensively the Knicks have been much improved under Brown's guidance, but that has come at a cost on the Defensive side of the court.
In recent games New York have shown a bit more intensity when playing Defense, but they are going to have to face a Milwaukee team that have found a way to play without the best player on the roster. The last ten games have proven something to those performing for the Bucks and in recent outings they are averaging 50% from the field, which will always give them a chance in games.
They have also shown a bit more belief when Defending the court and the Milwaukee Bucks will be confident, but respectful of what the Knicks are bringing onto the court.
New York are right to be favoured, but they follow this game with ones against San Antonio, Toronto and Oklahoma City and those are potential distractions.
With that in mind, the number of points being given to the underdog looks hard to ignore, even if the road team are the most likely winners on the night.
Prediction
Take the points with home underdog in this game.
The Pick :
Milwaukee Bucks 107-112 New York Knicks
