Indiana Pacers Need More Than Home Court Advantage To Tame Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks are charging, and the next team standing in the way is the struggling Indiana Pacers.

The two teams will collide this Friday, January 27 at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse, but the Pacers may have to do more than rely on their home-court advantage.

In their regular-season series matchup, the Bucks won in their first meeting, 132-119, about a week ago.

In their scheduled second duel, the two teams are coming off contrasting last assignments.

The Bucks won over the Denver Nuggets, 107-99, while the Pacers dropped a 120-126 decision to the Orland Magic.

The Pacers tried to rally their way to a win against the Magic, but their effort came out short.

Bennedict Mathurin, coming off the bench, led Indiana with 26 points and four assists.

Myles Turner and Buddy Hield chipped in 22 points and 21 points respectively for the Pacers.

"Lousy first quarter. We've got to get off to better starts," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "They hit us with a lot of shots, drives to the basket, and we were on our heels. The second night of a back-to-back is not an excuse because we've been good all year in those situations."

The Pacers are 12th in the league in team scoring, averaging 115.1 points per contest. They also have an offensive rating of 112.6.

On defense, the Pacers are surrendering 116.8 points per game and carry a defensive rating of 114.5,

On the other side, the Bucks are hoping to get their third-straight win in Indiana as they are fresh from a 107-99 win over the Nuggets and will try to sustain the momentum in Friday's matchup.

Giannis Antetokounmpo manned the offense for the Bucks in that win with 33 points and 14 rebounds.

Jrue Holiday backed him up with 20 markers and five boards.

"I tried to enjoy the game. I feel I sometimes get too locked in. I think I've got to enjoy the game more. Usually when I enjoy the game more, I get to the free-throw line more, I get downhill more, I'm able to find my teammates more and just make better plays," Antetokounmpo stated after their win over Denver.

The Bucks are 18th in the league in team points scored with 113.1 points per outing. Milwaukee has an offensive rating of 111.6.

Moreover. the Bucks are also allowing opponents to score 111.5 points per game with a defensive rating is 110.1, the third-best in the league.

Oddsmakers pick the Bucks as -8 spread favorites to prevail over the Pacers, who are at +8.

In addition, the moneyline is -341 for Milwaukee and +269 for Indiana.

The game can be watched over the NBA League Pass and via fuboTV at 7:30 PM ET.