The No. 6 seed Indiana Pacers have a chance to close out their series against the No. 3 seed Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. For this game, SportsLine consensus lists Indiana as the 8.5-point favorite, while the over/under is 214 points (see up-to-date odds for every game this week on our NBA odds page). 

Before you make any Bucks vs. Pacers picks, you NEED to see what the SportsLine Projection Model has to say.

The SportsLine Projection Model simulates every NBA game 10,000 times and has returned well over $10,000 in profit for $100 players on its top-rated NBA picks over the past five-plus seasons. The model enters the third week of the 2024 NBA playoffs on a sizzling 92-61 roll on all top-rated NBA picks this season, returning more than $2,600. Anyone following has seen HUGE returns!

The model knows Indiana power forward Pascal Siakam has been dominant against the Bucks this series. In five games, he is averaging 23 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in 38.4 minutes. He joined Wilt Chamberlain (1967) and Elgin Baylor (1961) as the only players in NBA history to record consecutive playoff games with 35 or more points and 10 or more rebounds, achieving that in Games 1 and 2 of the series. He is coming off a 12-point, four-rebound and two-assist performance in the Game 5 loss at Milwaukee.

The model also knows Milwaukee has a slim chance to get power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (calf) and point guard Damian Lillard (Achilles) back for the game. Even if the Bucks do not get Lillard or Antetokounmpo back, they are both listed as doubtful, they still have a formidable lineup as they proved in Game 5. Forward Bobby Portis more than made up for his Game 4 ejection by posting a double-double on Tuesday. In 39 minutes of action, he poured in 29 points, while grabbing 10 boards. He has posted double-doubles in four of the five games in the series. In Game 3's 121-118 overtime loss, he scored 17 points, while grabbing 18 rebounds.

The model has simulated Bucks vs. Pacers 10,000 times and the results are in. We can tell you that the model is leaning Over on the point total, and it also says one side of the spread hits in well over 60% of simulations!

Who wins Bucks vs. Pacers, and which side of the spread hits in well over 60% of simulations? ... Join SportsLine right now to find out which side of the spread you should be all over, all from the model on a 92-61 roll on top-rated NBA picks!