Celtics 5 1/2-point underdogs at Milwaukee tonight

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The Boston Celtics (37-21) are chasing three other teams for the top seed in the Eastern Conference right now, led by their Thursday opponent - the Central-leading Milwaukee Bucks (43-14). The Celtics will get back to work after the All-Star break by visiting the Bucks as 5.5-point road underdogs on the NBA odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

Milwaukee and Boston both won two straight games heading into the break, but the former has been hotter over a longer period recently en route to the East's best record. The Bucks have also won eight of their last nine games and 14 of 16 to keep a little distance between them and the Atlantic-leading Toronto Raptors for the top spot in the conference.

The Celtics trail the Raptors by 5.5 games in the Atlantic but hold a tiebreaker over the Philadelphia 76ers, who have the same record but have lost all three meetings this season.

Boston won last year's first-round playoff matchup with Milwaukee in seven games, and the teams have split two meetings so far this year. The Celtics have enjoyed more longer-term success in the series though, going 7-5 straight up but a more impressive 9-3 against the spread in the past 12 games between them, according to the OddsShark NBA Database.

In the last meeting on December 21, the Bucks won 120-107 as 1.5-point road favorites behind a game-high 30 points from MVP contender Giannis Antetokounmpo, who made 8-of-13 shots from the field but converted on 13-of-17 attempts from the free-throw line as well. 

Boston's starting backcourt of Kyrie Irving and Marcus Smart struggled with their shooting in that game, making just 9-of-28 (32 percent), including 1-of-6 from beyond the three-point arc.

One constant in this matchup over the last couple seasons has been plenty of offense, with both teams scoring 100 points or more in the same game seven times in the previous 11. That has obviously helped the OVER cash nine times during that stretch. Going back even further, the OVER is 19-8-1 in the past 28 meetings dating back to 2012.

It is also worth noting that this is the highest total in a matchup involving these teams over that period at 227 points.

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