Milwaukee Bucks vs Indiana Pacers Prediction and Betting Tips - April 19 | 2025 NBA Playoffs, Game 1

Welcome to the NBA postseason! The 2025 playoffs open Saturday with a showdown between the Eastern Conference’s No. 4 seed Indiana Pacers and No. 5 seed Milwaukee Bucks.

This marks a rematch of last season’s opening-round battle between the two squads, which the Pacers clinched in six games.

Here’s a preview of Game 1 of the Milwaukee Bucks vs Indiana Pacers first-round series, scheduled to tip off at 1 p.m. ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

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Milwaukee Bucks vs Indiana Pacers Preview and Odds

Moneyline: Bucks (-185) vs Pacers (-225)

Spread: Bucks +5.5 (-110) vs Pacers -5.5 (-110)

Total (O/U): Bucks o224.5 (-110) vs Pacers u224.5 (-110)

Editor's note: The odds could change close to the game. The odds listed were as per available information at the time of writing.

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Milwaukee Bucks vs Indiana Pacers preview

The Bucks and Pacers squared off four times during the regular season, with Milwaukee taking three of those meetings. They claimed the first two games by eight points each.

The Pacers pulled off a win in their third clash, thanks to a wild four-point play from Tyrese Haliburton, but Milwaukee bounced back to take the fourth matchup by seven.

If the regular-season meetings were any clue, this series could be a grind. That said, health will be a major factor. Bucks star Damian Lillard — although cleared for basketball activities after dealing with deep vein thrombosis in his right calf — will miss tonight’s game due to conditioning.

Still, Giannis Antetokounmpo has been dominant versus Indiana, putting up averages of 30.0 points, 12.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists across all four games.

The absence of Lillard, who averaged 18.3 ppg, 9.3 apg and 5.5 rpg against Indiana this season, could be significant. This will also be the Bucks’ first game vs. the Pacers without Dame in uniform.

Meanwhile, Tyrese Haliburton looks to steer Indiana to another victory over Milwaukee. Last postseason, he tallied 16.0 ppg, 9.3 apg and 5.8 rpg against the Bucks. This regular season, he posted 17.0 ppg, 10.3 apg and 4.3 rpg against them.

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Milwaukee Bucks vs Indiana Pacers predicted starting lineups

Bucks

G - Ryan Rollins | G - Taurean Prince | F - Kyle Kuzma | F - Giannis Antetokounmpo | C - Brook Lopez

Pacers

G - Tyrese Haliburton | G - Andrew Nembhard | F - Aaron Nesmith | F - Pascal Siakam | C - Myles Turner

Editor's note: These are the predicted lineups and could change based on the availability of players.

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Milwaukee Bucks vs Indiana Pacers betting props

• Giannis Antetokounmpo O/U 31.5 points – Take the over.
• Pascal Siakam O/U 19.5 points – Take the over.
• Tyrese Haliburton O/U 19.5 points – Take the under.
• Myles Turner O/U 15.5 points – Take the over.

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Milwaukee Bucks vs Indiana Pacers prediction

Milwaukee closed out the regular season with eight wins in a row, while Indiana finished strong as well, winning seven of their last eight. In what should be a tightly contested series, we’re leaning toward the team with the sharper offensive rhythm right now — and that’s Indiana.

Our prediction: Pacers win by 11.