NBA Playoffs Expert Picks, Friday Odds: Bucks at Pacers, Clippers at Mavericks, Timberwolves at Suns

Game 3 brings a change of venues in the NBA playoffs, and the matchups are all fairly evenly matched for Friday's games. The home teams are favored with similar spreads in all three games, but the stakes differ slightly across the three games.

The Indiana Pacers and Dallas Mavericks look to maintain their home advantage after winning Game 2 on the road. The Milwaukee Bucks need to get Giannis Antetokounmpo back after he missed the first two games. The LA Clippers showed their star's return wasn't an automatic win after Kawhi Leonard returned from injury, but the Clippers lost Game 2 at home to the Mavericks.

In the nightcap, the Phoenix Suns are in desperation mode after losing two games in Minnesota. Can the Suns' talented scoring trio get things going, or will Anthony Edwards continue to prove he's one of the best players in the league?

We have odds, previews and personnel picks for all of Friday's NBA Playoff action.

All odds from BetMGM. Find the best deals on tickets on StubHub.

No. 3 Milwaukee Bucks at No. 6 Indiana Pacers

How to watch: 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN

The series was tied 1-1

Series odds: Pacers -140, Bucks +115

Damian Lillard had another big game in Game 2 on Tuesday, but Pascal Siakam outpaced him and the Pacers shot 44.4 percent from 3-point range (16 for 36) to secure a blowout road win. With the series now even and heading to Indianapolis, the Pacers are favorites to win the series after winning a playoff game for the first time in six years.

Giannis Antetokounmpo has a chance to return for Game 3, but there is still no official word on that.

Without Giannis, it was fun to watch Lillard and Siakam dominate. Siakam scored 37 points in Game 2 after scoring 36 points in Game 1. He also averaged 12 rebounds in both games. Lillard had 35 points in Game 1, all in the first half, and dropped 34 on Tuesday. He is shooting 50 percent (12 of 24) from 3-point range. It seems like these two will definitely get their numbers.

The supporting cast for Indiana was better in Game 2 as Myles Turner posted 22 points, seven rebounds, six assists and three blocks. Sophomore guard Andrew Nembhard had a near-career night with 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting. For Milwaukee, Brook Lopez scored 22 points but somehow only had one rebound and Khris Middleton only managed 15 points.

If Turner and Nembhard outperform Lopez and Middleton while Giannis is out, Indiana will be in good shape. Can they do it again at home?

Expert tips for Bucks at Pacers

No. 4 LA Clippers at No. 5 Dallas Mavericks

How to watch: 8 p.m. ET on ESPN

The series was tied 1-1

Series odds: Mavs -145, Clippers +120

Kawhi Leonard returned for Game 2 on Tuesday, but his appearance didn't exactly boost the Clippers. The Mavericks escaped LA with a three-point win in a game that was close throughout, despite Leonard returning to the starting lineup and playing 35 minutes.

It was Leonard's first game action since March 31 and there appeared to be some rust. He scored 15 points and missed all five 3-point attempts, although he had four steals. James Harden also struggled shooting, making just 2 of 10 from 3-point range after a big first game.

Kawhi's return should still give the Clippers a boost in the long run. This team hasn't had a healthy playoff run yet to see how good this core can be. Leonard may not be at his best yet, but we're close to seeing what a fully operational battle station in LA could look like. Additionally, the Clippers only lost by three margins as Leonard and Harden didn't have shooting nights, which could be seen as a positive.

The Mavs are a clear favorite for Game 3 at home and are favored throughout the series. The way Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving have been playing, the Clippers don't have much room for off-shooting nights from two of their stars. Dončić is averaging 32.5 points per game in this series, which is strangely below his season average (33.9).

Expert tips for Clippers at Mavs

How to watch: 10:30 p.m. ET on ESPN

The Timberwolves lead the series 2-0

Series odds: Timberwolves -375, Suns +300

The Suns' latest experiment is on the verge of failure after two largely uncompetitive losses in Minneapolis earlier in this series. The Suns have made it out of the first round the last three seasons, but even with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, they could fall short.

Before we start writing the eulogy about what went wrong with this trio, Phoenix has a chance to prove that this is still a series. The Suns are the favorites at home, but still need to improve a lot to win both games and put Minnesota under pressure again.

Anthony Edwards left Game 1 (33 points, nine rebounds, six assists) but was just 3 of 12 from the field in Game 2. Minnesota still won Game 2 by 12 points and led by double digits for most of the fourth quarter. Jaden McDaniels scored 25 points, the second-highest output of his career, and six T'wolves scored in double figures.

If Minnesota can win comfortably with Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns combining for just 27 points and making just three field goals each, as was the case in Game 2, Phoenix is ​​in big trouble. Phoenix may need one of its top scorers to pull off a win, but all three are capable of doing so.

Expert tips for Timberwolves at Suns

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(Photo by Pascal Siakam: Stacy Revere/Getty Images)