Billups, Denver top Spurs for fourth straight win
Basketball Betting Lines
11/20/2008 -
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups scored 22 points, doled
out six assists and hauled in five rebounds to lead the Denver Nuggets in a
91-81 victory over the San Antonio Spurs.
"We've just come in every night focused on the game plan and focused on what
we got to do to beat whatever team it is," Billups said. "We've played some
tough teams, and we've been successful, so we just got to continue to build on
what we've done."
Carmelo Anthony poured in 21 points, grabbed nine boards and dished out seven
helpers for the Nuggets, who have won four straight and seven of eight
overall. Kenyon Martin had 18 points and Nene 16 in the win.
"I think this team is really starting to feel good about what they are doing
on the basketball court," Nuggets head coach George Karl said. "I really feel
like we got things done as a team tonight. I really enjoyed the defensive
intensity in almost every possession."
George Hill scored 20 points for the Spurs, who saw their season-high three-
game win streak come to an end. Michael Finley gave 13 points, while Tim
Duncan had 12 points and 11 boards.
"It's very disappointing when you lose a game," Hill said. "You always go out
there to win. We learned from it. We learn from our mistakes. We made a couple
of bonehead mistakes down the stretch, and it hurt us. It just shows you, in
this league you can't make mistakes. You have to be successful at both ends of
the court."
The Nuggets held a slight 22-21 lead after 12 minutes but opened a 50-40 lead
at the break.
Denver led by as many as 14 points in the third quarter, but a Duncan three-
point play made it 62-51 with five minutes left in the stanza.
With the Spurs still trailing by 11, the Nuggets closed out the quarter with
an 11-1 run to take a 75-54 lead into the final stanza. Billups had seven
points on the run, with Anthony pouring in two technical free throws off a
Duncan foul, while Martin's dunk closed it out.
A Roger Mason layup and Anthony Tolliver three-pointer brought the Spurs to
within 14 points, 85-71, with 5 1/2 minutes left.
The home team failed to close within the final margin the rest of the way, as
the Nuggets cruised to an easy victory.
Game Notes
The Spurs went 2-for-17 from three-point range. The Nuggets were 6-of-13 from
behind the arc...San Antonio was 29-of-75 from the field, as Denver hit 30-
of-65 shots from the floor...Denver improved to 5-1 since acquiring Billups in
a trade for Allen Iverson with Detroit.
<< Oden successful in home debut; Blazers blitz Bulls
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Roy scored 20 points and Greg Oden had
a successful regular season home debut, as the Portland Trail Blazers
dominated the Chicago Bulls to the tune of 116-74 at the Rose Garden.
The game mar
<< Ovechkin leads Caps past Ducks
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Ovechkin registered a goal and three
assists, as the Washington Capitals defeated the Anaheim Ducks, 6-4, at Honda
Center.
David Steckel had a goal and an assist, while Michael Nylander collected
<< Portland G Blake leaves game
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portland Trail Blazers guard Steve Blake left
Wednesday's 116-74 win over the Chicago Bulls after cutting his head on a
camera in the third quarter.
Blake dove for a loose ball out of bounds but
<< Clippers crush Thunder
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Kaman led a balanced attack with 25
points and 14 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Oklahoma
City Thunder, 108-88, in a battle of the league's two worst teams.
With a combined
<< Ball State stays perfect with win over Central Michigan
Mount Pleasant, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nate Davis threw four touchdown
passes and MiQuale Lewis rushed for 177 yards as the 14th-ranked Ball State
Cardinals stayed perfect on the season with a 31-24 decision over Central
Michiga
Rangers ship righty Loe to Japan >>
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Texas Rangers have sold the rights to
right-handed pitcher Kameron Loe to the Fukuoka SouthBank Hawks of Japan's
Pacific League for an undisclosed amount.
Loe, the club's 20th round pick in 2002,
Iona will no longer have football >>
New Rochelle, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Iona College has announced that it is
terminating its football program, effective immediately, on Thursday.
"It is with a heavy heart and careful deliberations that we have come to this
extremely di
Portsmouth signs goalkeeping coach to new contract >>
Portsmouth, England (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Portsmouth has successfully headed off
reported interest from Spurs in David Coles after agreeing a new contract with
their goalkeeping coach.
Coles, 44, had been strongly linked with a move to W
Celtic's Hartley suffers ankle injury in friendly >>
Glasgow, Scotland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Celtic midfielder Paul Hartley fears that
he faces a spell on the sidelines after picking up an ankle knock in Scotland's
friendly international defeat to Argentina.
The former Hearts star could miss Sat
England's Capello pleased about performance >>
Berlin, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fabio Capello is pleased to see his England
team playing with such confidence after watching them produce an impressive
display to beat Germany 2-1 in a friendly international in Berlin on Wednesday.
O
Big East Conference odds
Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
 Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
For more March Madness odds go to MySportsbook.com
For more College Basketball betting lines go to BettingExpress.com
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.
2007 Academy Award Odds for Best Picture Offer Great Value
If there is any category that is not an obvious win for any one nominee in this year's Academy Awards, it would be for Best Picture. Sure the Departed is a 5/7 favorite, but that's hardly anything when we look at Helen Mirren and her "out-of-reach" 1 to 40 odds (which means you would win a whopping $1 for every $40 bet).
For value, take a look at MySportsbook.com Oscars betting odds on my personal favorite, The Queen - a remarkable 12 to 1 long shot. The film hasn't won any pre-awards for Best Picture (compared to The Departed and Little Miss Sunshine), but there is a tremendous following and it is a strong enough film to warrant a surprise win.
TV Guide advises Oscar watchers should be cautioned not to discount the drama "Babel" with its strong social themes about overcoming communication gaps among people of different cultures.
"While 'Babel' lost several guild awards to 'Sunshine' and 'Departed,' it still enjoys loyal support, and historically Oscar voters favor dramas with social messages over comedies like 'Sunshine' and violent crime movies like 'Departed'."
"It hasn't done well in the guilds, which means there isn't much industry support," said Tom O'Neil of awards site TheEnvelope.com, "But several critics are expecting it to win, and that gets my attention." Babel had 7 to 2 odds at press time.
Who is to say independently produced Little Miss Sunshine won't be this year's Crash. Last year, Crash won for Best Motion Picture, shocking those who bet on gay cowboy flick, Brokeback Mountain, as the favorite to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Visa needs.
|
