Bryant paces Lakers over Suns
Basketball Betting Lines
02/18/2012 -
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant had 36 points, nine rebounds
and six assists, as the Lakers downed the Suns, 111-99, in the opener of a
home-and-home at Staples Center.
Andrew Bynum added 17 points and 14 rebounds for the Lakers, who have won
three straight and four of five. Matt Barnes also had 17 points while Derek
Fisher chipped in 12 and Pau Gasol finished with 10 and 13 rebounds.
The Suns, meanwhile, have lost four in a row and five of their last six. They
were led by Marcin Gortat's 21 points and 16 rebounds. Ex-Laker Shannon Brown
had 15 points, Markieff Morris had 14 and Steve Nash scored 11 to go with 17
assists.
"Every time I take Grant (Hill) out of the game, Kobe explodes," Suns coach
Alvin Gentry said. "Someone else has to step up. You can't turn the ball over
15 times in the first half. We had unforced turnovers. We didn't protect the
ball tonight."
Bryant found himself on the bench to start the final quarter after helping the
Lakers to a 87-73 advantage with 18 third-quarter points.
Phoenix, though, opened the fourth with a 10-6 run to pull the NBA's leading
scorer from the pine. Gasol answered with an 11-footer, but the Suns continued
to fight back. They scored the next seven points, capped by Brown's putback
slam, to make it 95-90.
They would get no closer, however, as Fisher drained a short jumper before
Bryant made a 12-foot turnaround and a lefty hook in the lane for a decisive
101-90 advantage with under three minutes to play.
"A good win for us. We made enough plays to win the game and scored more
points that usual," Gasol said. "They made it close, but we didn't panic. It
was a solid effort."
Earlier, the Suns rode Gortat's eight points and seven boards to a 25-21 lead
after one. They were up 35-34 midway through the second when the Lakers'
reserves scored 11 straight.
Barnes, Steve Blake and Troy Murphy all hit a three-pointer during the surge
before Phoenix battled back to tie the game at 48. The Lakers, though, closed
with a 9-0 run, getting five points from Fisher to take a 57-48 lead into the
break.
Bryant, who scored a season-low 10 points in Tuesday's win over the Hawks,
took over in the third. It was 69-63 when he scored 12 points during a 14-0 LA
run, capping it with a trey for an 83-63 lead.
Game Notes
The Lakers' 111 points were a season-high...Bryant entered Friday averaging
28.7 points per game...Barnes' 17 points were a season-high...The Suns have
lost seven of eight to the Lakers at Staples Center...The teams will meet
Sunday night in Phoenix.
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position for the Budweiser Shootout during Friday night's random drawing at
Daytona International Speedway.
Truex Jr., driver of the No.56 Toyota for Michael W
<< Avalanche top Oilers
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goal and an assist, as the Colorado Avalanche handled the Edmonton Oilers,
3-1.
Erik Johnson also lit the lamp for the Avalanche, who improved to 1-1-1 on a
<< Jefferson, Jazz outlast Wizards
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rebounds and the Utah Jazz snapped a two-game losing streak with a 114-100 win
over the Washington Wizards on Friday night.
The Jazz also stopped a two-game sli
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over the Philadelphia 76ers, 82-75, at Wells Fargo Center on Friday.
Nowitzki's 24
<< Love leads Timberwolves over Rockets
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Ricky Rubio added 18 points and nine assists for the
Roddick upset in straight sets in San Jose >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second-seeded Andy Roddick lost to
Russia's Denis Istomin in the quarterfinals, 6-2, 6-4 on Friday at the
$531,000 SAP Open.
Roddick. a three-time San Jose titlist (2004-05, 2008), was the
Miyazato tops strong leaderboard in Thailand >>
Chonburi, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ai Miyazato fired a seven-under 65
Saturday to take a one-stroke lead after 54 holes of the Honda LPGA Thailand.
Miyazato, the 2010 winner, finished three rounds at 14-under-par 202. She will
go for her
Kruger owns slim lead at Avantha Masters >>
New Delhi, India (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jbe' Kruger carded a six-under 66 in the
third round Saturday to grab a one-stroke lead after 54 holes of the Avantha
Masters.
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Flyers, Penguins clash in Philadelphia >>
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today in Philadelphia, as the Flyers welcome the Pittsburgh Penguins for an
afternoon battle at Wells Fargo Center.
Today's contest marks the third of six schedule
Blackhawks hope to stay on track vs. Blue Jackets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks have put their longest losing streak
in over five years behind them and will try to record consecutive wins when
they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets today at Nationwide Arena.
The Blackhawks were on
Stanley Cup betting
New York, NY – October 3, 2007 – The dress rehearsal is over! The NHL preseason has ended and now that fans have had a glimpse of what is to come it is time to hit the book! Stanley Cup odds are live at MySportsbook.com, the world’s largest online sportsbook and casino.
The Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings remain on top of the odds charts after an impressive start in the preseason. Betting lines opened for both teams at 6-1 in June. Since then the Sens have fallen to 7-1 and the Red Wings are now caught in a pack including the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes, the San Jose Sharks and the Anaheim Ducks, all at 10-1.
MySportsbook.com has also posted props on each team’s point total for the regular season. The Senators lead the charge at 108.5 followed by the Ducks at 106.5. Detroit will attempt a repeat for the prize as the Red Wings are deadlocked with the Predators at 104.5 a piece. The temporary loss of highly touted rookie Evgeni Malkin puts a lot of pressure on the stick of assistant captain Sidney Crosby - his lowly Pittsburgh Penguins are listed at 71.5.
Even if bettors are not brave enough to put their money on the underdog, an early bet on the favorites at sportsbook.com tends to produce bigger payouts than a mid-season wager. Placing a $1,000 bet last summer on the Detroit Red Wings or Ottawa Senators would have paid out to $8,000 and $10,000 respectively, opposed to a $2,500 or $3,000 payout at the beginning of the playoffs.
Stanley Cup Odds
Ottawa Senators
Detroit Red Wings
Carolina Hurricanes
San Jose Sharks
Anaheim Ducks
Philadelphia Flyers
Calgary Flames
New Jersey Devils
Buffalo Sabres
Dallas Stars
New York Rangers
Nashville Predators
Vancouver Canucks
Colorado Avalanche
Minnesota Wild
Tampa Bay Lightning
Boston Bruins
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Atlanta Thrashers
Toronto Maple Leafs
Edmonton Oilers
Phoenix Coyotes
Los Angeles Kings
New York Islanders
Columbus Blue Jackets
St. Louis Blues
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals
Chicago Blackhawks |
7-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
10-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
15-1
20-1
20-1
25-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
30-1
40-1
40-1
50-1
50-1
80-1
80-1
100-1
100-1 |
NHL Regular Season Points - Team Must Play 82 Games
Team
Ottawa Senators
Anaheim Ducks
Detroit Red Wings
Nashville Predators
San Jose Sharks
Calgary Flames
Philadelphia Flyers
New Jersey Devils
Buffalo Sabres
Carolina Hurricanes
Dallas Stars
New York Rangers
Minnesota Wild
Atlanta Thrashers
Montreal Canadiens
Team
Los Angeles Kings
Tampa Bay Lightening
Vancouver Canucks
Boston Bruins
Colorado Avalanche
Edmonton Oilers
Phoenix Coyotes
Toronto Maple Leafs
Florida Panthers
Columbus Blue Jackets
New York Islanders
Chicago Blackhawks
St. Louis Blues
Washington Capitals
Pittsburgh Penguins |
Over/Under
108.5
106.5
104.5
104.5
103.5
101.5
100.5
99.5
97.5
97.5
97.5
95.5
94.5
93.5
92.5
Over/Under
91.5
91.5
91.5
89.5
89.5
88.5
88.5
86.5
84.5
82.5
80.5
72.5
72.5
72.5
71.5 |
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey sportsbook needs.
What Is the Point Spread?
In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
How to Read Point Spreads
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
- Philly wins the actual game by any amount of points
OR
- Philly loses the game by less than 7 points.
-
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
For Those Who Like to Consider Things Mathematically
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
- Subtracting the point spread from the favorite’s score (thus the minus sign before the number) and then compare to the underdog’s score
OR
- Adding the point spread to the underdog’s score (thus the plus sign before the number) and then compare to the favorite’s score
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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