Garnett returns to Minnesota to lead Celtics over T'Wolves
Basketball Betting Lines
11/21/2008 -
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Garnett made 8-of-12 field goals en
route to scoring 17 points, as the Boston Celtics notched a 95-78 win over the
Minnesota Timberwolves.
It was Garnett's first game back in Minnesota, as the long-time Timberwolves
player missed the Celtics' contest there last season because of an abdominal
strain.
Paul Pierce finished with 12 points and 11 rebounds for Boston, which has won
four in a row and 10 of 11. Rajon Rondo added 13 points, seven rebounds and
five assists in the win.
Al Jefferson scored 23 points to pace the Timberwolves, who were coming off
just their second win of the season, one that snapped an eight-game slide. But
Minnesota lost their ninth contest out of 10 after a 31.3-percent shooting
effort, and whose only other double-digit scorer was Sebastian Telfair with 13
points.
Boston trailed at halftime, but erased its deficit with a Pierce jumper and
Garnett dunk in the first minute of the third quarter. The baskets were part
of an 11-2 run to open the second half, which ended with a Rondo bucket for a
47-41 lead.
"We were rushing things offensively in the first half," Boston's Ray Allen
said. "Still playing pretty good defense...keeping them from scoring."
The teams traded baskets until Boston ended the third on a 14-0 run. Rondo
concluded the burst with a layup and long three-pointer in the waning seconds,
as the Celtics took a 71-49 lead into the fourth.
"They turned it on," Minnesota's Kevin Love said. "We didn't hit them. They
were aggressive."
After Minnesota opened the final stanza with six consecutive points, Boston
countered with five of its own, going up 76-56 on a three-point play from
Tony Allen, and the Celtics cruised to the finish from there.
In a back-and-forth first quarter, Brian Scalabrine made a three-pointer with
half a minute left to put Boston ahead 22-21 going into the second.
But Minnesota opened the second quarter on an eight-point run, and led 29-22
after a Telfair jumper three minutes in. The T'Wolves continued to play in
front and led 39-36 at halftime.
Game Notes
The T'Wolves, in addition to making just 26-of-83 field goals, were successful
on just three of 15 three-point attempts. They made 23-of-27 free
throws...Boston shot 49.3 percent (37-of-75) from the floor, but only 17-of-24
from the free throw line...Ray Allen had 11 points and six assists for Boston,
while Tony Allen had 14 points and Leon Powe 10.
<< Boozer sits out in San Antonio
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer missed
Friday's 119-94 loss to the San Antonio Spurs with a strained left quad
tendon.
Boozer left Wednesday's win over Milwaukee in the fourth quarter while go
<< Carter's jam caps wild OT finish as Nets edge Raptors
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter poured in a season-high 39 points,
including the desperation three-pointer at the end of regulation to send the
game into overtime and the game-winning alley-oop dunk as time expired in the
extra
<< Flyers top Sabres as Biron blanks former club
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Martin Biron stopped all 40 shots he saw
against his former team to post his first shutout of the season as the
Philadelphia Flyers downed the Buffalo Sabres, 3-0, at HSBC Arena.
Biron, who play
<< Staal records hat trick as 'Canes top Coyotes
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Staal snapped an eight-game goalless
drought with his fifth career hat trick, helping the Carolina Hurricanes to a
5-2 win over the Phoenix Coyotes at RBC Center.
Ray Whitney added a pair of third
<< Lewis has the Magic in OT win over Pacers
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rashard Lewis scored 23 points, including
the final seven for Orlando in overtime, as the Magic edged the Indiana
Pacers, 100-98, for their fifth straight victory.
Lewis finished 9-of-12 from th
Villanueva, Bucks crush short-handed Knicks >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlie Villanueva scored 20 points and
grabbed six rebounds to lead the Milwaukee Bucks in a 104-87 victory over the
New York Knicks.
Andrew Bogut scored 14 points and hauled in 17 boards for the Bu
Mavs finally get first home win, top Grizzlies >>
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dirk Nowitzki had a game-high 25 points and
grabbed 10 rebounds as the Dallas Mavericks got their first home win
of the season at the expense of the Memphis Grizzlies in a 91-76 victory at
America
Smith helps Duke top Michigan in MSG title game >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nolan Smith scored 16 points and Kyle Singler
added 15 points and eight rebounds as 10th-ranked Duke topped Michigan, 71-56,
in the title game of the 2K Sports Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
Gerald H
UCLA's Aboya injures wrist >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - UCLA forward/center Alfred Aboya injured his
left wrist in Friday's 77-60 win over Southern Illinois at the 2K Sports
Classic Benefiting Coaches vs. Cancer.
Aboya scored 22 points for the fourth-rank
Lecavalier gives Tocchet first win as Bolts down Preds >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vincent Lecavalier scored twice to lead Tampa Bay
over Nashville, 4-1, at St. Pete Times Forum.
Vinny Prospal and Mark Recchi also tallied for the Lightning, who gave interim
head coach Rick Tocchet his first win
MySportsbook.com favors Bears, Bengals, Chargers and Colts to remain perfect
LAS VEGAS , Sept. 28 - Two big match-ups of undefeated teams have fans salivating at the Week Four schedule in the NFL. The Chicago Bears stifling defense looks to provide a less than hospitable welcome to the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night in a battle of two 3-0 teams in the NFC conference. In the AFC, the San Diego Chargers (2-0) head to Maryland to face the surprising Baltimore Ravens (3-0) as both try to keep pace atop the conference standings. Betting Lines makers at MySportsbook.com, online sportsbook and casino, have set the Bears as 3.5 point favorites while the Chargers are a 2.5 point bet.
Of the three remaining undefeated teams, only one, New Orleans, enters this week's game as an underdog. Despite an emotional and resounding win over Atlanta on Monday night, the Saints are a 7.5 point underdog against the struggling Carolina Panthers. Indianapolis looks to stay perfect when they face the New York Jets as a 9 point road favorite while the Cincinnati Bengals are a 6 point favorite at home to the New England Patriots.
Six teams enter the week still looking for their first win, with a seventh, Tampa Bay, on a bye week. The prospect of dropping another game would not bode well for a potential playoff run. Since 1990, just three teams -- the 1992 Chargers, 1995 Detroit Lions and 1998 Buffalo Bills -- have overcome losing their first three games of the season to earn a postseason berth. And only the Chargers managed to accomplish the feat after starting 0-4.
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for Bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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