Follow Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter VI Mobile College Basketball March Mayhem Picks College Basketball March Mayhem Picks VegasInsider.com VegasInsider.com
Handicapper Bios Sports Picks Free Odds Contests Sportsbook
Sports Betting Home NFL NBANHLMLBNCAA FBNCAA BKGolfAutoHorsesBoxingVI More Sports
 
NBA Scores Matchups Teams Standings Schedules Injuries News
 
 · Latest News
 · Player Updates
 · Transactions
Buy Picks Vegas Odds
 
 · Vegas Odds
 · Offshore Odds
 · Future Odds
 
Preview: Bucks (38-44) at Suns (25-57)
BT Movements  ·  Line Movements
Date: January 17, 2013 9:00 PM EDT
  

Jim Boylan won his first game as Milwaukee Bucks interim coach when they beat the Phoenix Suns last week. Now he'll look to accomplish something his nine predecessors weren't able to achieve against the Suns.

Milwaukee seeks its first victory in Phoenix in nearly 26 years Thursday night as it looks to win for the fourth time in six games under Boylan.

The Bucks and former coach Scott Skiles mutually parted ways hours before Boylan led them to a 108-99 home win over the Suns on Jan. 8. Brandon Jennings scored 29 points, handed out nine assists and went 5 for 7 from 3-point range.

Advertisement

"Brandon Jennings, he just took it over, he started shooting 3s. We couldn't stop him," Phoenix center Marcin Gortat said after the game.

Milwaukee (19-18) ended a season-worst four-game losing streak by beating the Suns and seeks to end a much longer drought in the rematch. It has dropped 24 straight in Phoenix since the NBA's all-time leader in coaching victories, Don Nelson, was on the bench for a 115-107 win Feb. 21, 1987.

This may be an ideal time to halt that skid. The Suns (13-27) have lost five of six in Phoenix and are looking to avoid dropping four straight at home for the first time since a five-game skid in March 2004.

Milwaukee fell to 1-1 on a four-game road trip with Tuesday's 104-88 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Jennings had averaged 24.5 points while hitting 13 of 26 from 3-point range over his first four games under Boylan, but Kobe Bryant helped hold him to 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting - including 1 of 7 from behind the arc.

"It was probably the best defense somebody's ever played on me since I've been in the league - just constantly putting pressure on me, touching me, hitting me at all times in the game," Jennings said.

Defense was a staple under Skiles, and that philosophy hasn't changed much with Boylan. The Bucks are among the league leaders in forcing turnovers at 16.1 per game, and the Suns committed 16 in the first meeting.

"This is a team that you cannot turn the ball over against," Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said after that matchup.

The Suns have averaged 16.9 turnovers while losing six of seven, scoring just 86.4 points per game and shooting 42.0 percent. They're 2-12 since winning a season-high four straight Dec. 12-19.

Phoenix earned a surprising 97-81 win at Chicago on Saturday but fell 102-90 to NBA-best Oklahoma City on Monday despite trailing by only four points entering the fourth quarter.

"We got to kind of learn from that when it comes down to the stretch, we got to learn how to run our stuff and good shots and good looks," said Shannon Brown, who scored a team-high 21 points. "Then we need to stay solid on the other side."

Gortat finished with 19 points and 15 rebounds Monday and is averaging 17.4 points over his last five games versus the Bucks.

Goran Dragic had 21 points in the last meeting with Milwaukee but has since averaged 10.5 in four games while shooting 37.5 percent.

The Suns hope to have Jared Dudley, who has missed the last two games with a strained wrist.

Milwaukee's Monta Ellis is scoring 14.8 points per game - four below his season average - since Boylan took over. He's averaged 16.0 and shot 31.9 percent in his last seven versus Phoenix.

AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2013
The Associated Press
All Rights Reserved

 CURRENT LAS VEGAS LINE
 Team  ML   SPR   O/U 
 MIL  -115   -1   197 
 PHO  -105   +1   
LAS VEGAS LINE MOVEMENTS

 CURRENT SPORTSBOOK LINE
 Team  ML   SPR   O/U 
 MIL     -1   197 
 PHO     +1   
OFFSHORE LINE MOVEMENTS

 BETTING TRENDS
 Team  ML   SPR   O/U 
 MIL  n/a   56%   74% 
 PHO  n/a   44%   26% 
BT MOVEMENTS

 NBA HEAD TO HEAD
 Jan 8, 2013  Score  ATS Results 
  PHO 99 Over: 207 
  MIL « 108 Cover: 3 
 Tools:   Recaps
 Jan 8, 2012  Score  ATS Results 
  MIL 93 Over: 202 
  PHO « 109 Cover: 8.5 
 Tools:   Recaps

 NBA PREVIEWS
 Thursday, Jan 17
 
  •  Knicks at Pistons
3:05 PM EDT
  •  Clippers at Timberwolves
8:00 PM EDT
  •  Bucks at Suns
9:05 PM EDT
  •  Heat at Lakers
10:35 PM EDT
 
 
 
  
GOLD Membership
Over 150 Member Plays free each month. Signup Today!
 
 

NFL
NFL Sports Picks
NFL Vegas Odds
NFL Online Odds
NFL Matchups
NFL Scores

More Sports
Golf
Auto Racing
Horse Racing
Boxing
WNBA

MLB
MLB Sports Picks
MLB Vegas Odds
MLB Online Odds
MLB Matchups
MLB Scores

Features
Free Odds
Contests
Newsletters
VI Radio
Las Vegas Travel
Follow us on Twitter
Add us on Google+
Join us on Facebook

NBA
NBA Sports Picks
NBA Vegas Odds
NBA Online Odds
NBA Matchups
NBA Scores

Sports Betting Tools
Live Odds
Mobile Odds
Parlay Calculator
Gaming Terms
TV Listings
Handicapping Records
Sports Betting
About Sports Betting
Sportsbook Reviews

NHL
NHL Sports Picks
NHL Vegas Odds
NHL Online Odds
NHL Matchups
NHL Scores

VegasInsider Info
About Us
Help Center
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Refund Policy
Contact Us
User Feedback

College Football
NCAA FB Sports Picks
NCAA FB Vegas Odds
NCAA FB Online Odds
NCAA FB Matchups
NCAA FB Scores

Sportsbooks
CarbonSports · Review
SportBet · Review
Sportsbook · Review
TopBet.eu · Review

College Basketball
NCAA BK Sports Picks
NCAA BK Vegas Odds
NCAA BK Online Odds
NCAA BK Matchups
NCAA BK Scores

Rotation Schedules
Baseball: Mar 31 - June 02

Copyright © 1997-2013, VegasInsider.com Inc., The Global Leader In Sports Gaming Information. All rights reserved.
For questions or comments, please contact us at 1-800-211-4759.