MILWAUKEE BUCKS (13-10)
at MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES (16-6)
Tip-off: Wednesday, 9:35 p.m. ET Line: Memphis -9, Total: 186 Milwaukee visits Memphis on Wednesday night at a time where both teams are playing good basketball. The Bucks have won five of their past six games (SU and ATS), while the Grizzlies have won two in a row by 11.0 PPG. Milwaukee enters this game 7-4 ATS on the road, while Memphis boasts a stellar home mark of 8-3-1 ATS (10-2 SU). The Grizzlies have won four straight meetings (3-1 ATS) between the teams, crushing the Bucks 108-90 when they last met on Nov. 7 in Milwaukee. Can the Grizzlies win by double-digits in this matchup? For the answer, connect to NBA Best Bets for all the Expert picks throughout the entire 2012-13 season. The experts are at 51% ATS (144-140-10) on Best Bets for the season. StatFox Gary is 56% ATS (27-21-3) Best Bets for the season, while StatFox Scott is at 52.4% ATS (33-30) and StatFox Brian is at 51% ATS (36-35-3) after a 4-2 ATS run over the past five days. For NBA Totals, Scott is 39-23 (63%) for the season, while Gary is 8-5 (62%) in Totals since Dec. 13. The Bucks have won five out of six games, thanks to a stellar defense that has held opponents to 93 points or less in all five victories. But Milwaukee has failed to reach 100 points in any of its past five games, averaging just 93.6 PPG on 41% FG. PG Brandon Jennings, made just 6-of-20 FG in the Nov. 7 loss to Memphis, but he is coming off one of his best games of the season on Tuesday. Jennings scored 34 points (13-of-22 FG) and added six assists and five rebounds to help the Bucks defeat the Pacers 98-93. His hot shooting was a welcomed change from his 8-for-33 shooting clip (3-of-15 threes) over the previous two games. SG Monta Ellis was also ice-cold in the last meeting with Memphis (5-of-18 FG), but he's starting to find his groove with 21.2 PPG on a respectable 43% FG with 6.0 APG in his past five games. The Grizzlies two-game win streak started in Utah on Saturday when PF Zach Randolph scored 25 points with 16 rebounds. He followed that performance up with 10 points and 15 rebounds in an 80-71 victory over Chicago on Monday. That gives Randolph 18.9 PPG and 12.9 RPG in eight games in December. SF Rudy Gay will need to find his shot for Memphis, as he is shooting a career-low 41.9% FG this year and just 38% FG in his past five games. PG Mike Conley broke out of a month-long shooting slump (32.9% FG in first 7 games of December) on Monday though, going 6-for-12 from the field with 17 points and four assists in the win over Chicago. He’ll need to keep it up in order to win his individual matchup with Jennings.
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