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03/07/2010 - Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant scored 27 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out five assists, and the Oklahoma City Thunder stayed hot with a 108-102 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Russell Westbrook added 21 points and eight boards for the Thunder, who have won five of six. James Harden contributed with 14 points off the bench, Jeff Green 12 and Serge Ibaka 11 in the win.
Tyreke Evans paced the Kings with 24 points and seven assists, but Sacramento suffered its eighth loss in 11 games. Carl Landry provided 20 points and eight rebounds, while Francisco Garcia had 14 points in the setback.
The Thunder led by two with 9 1/2 minutes to play and scored six straight points to grab a 94-86 advantage on an Ibaka jumper with 7:28 to go.
Beno Udrih was able to get Sacramento back to within two at 98-96 on a three with four minutes left, but Oklahoma City scored on each of its next three touches, with Westbrook drilling a 14-footer for a seven-point lead with 2:16 remaining.
The margin was at least four for the remainder of the game.
The Thunder grabbed a 26-25 lead after the first quarter and increased the advantage to 57-52 at halftime.
Durant was fouled from long distance and sank all three free throws midway through the third for a 76-65 Oklahoma City advantage, but the Kings closed out the period on a 10-2 burst to climb to within two.
Evans had five of the points, including a three-pointer at the buzzer to make it 81-79.
Game Notes
The Thunder won the season series, 3-1...OKC is 19-13 on the road, while the Kings are 15-15 at home...Jason Thompson had 11 points and eight boards for the Kings...Thabo Sefolosha had 10 points for the Thunder.
<< Twins closer Nathan to undergo tests on elbow
Fort Myers, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Minnesota Twins closer Joe Nathan traveled
back to Minnesota on Sunday to undergo an MRI and CT scan on his surgically
repaired right elbow.
Nathan felt tightness in the elbow on Saturday against Boston
<< BC Lions extend QB Printers
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The BC Lions announced Sunday that the team
has signed quarterback Casey Printers to a contract extension.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"Casey has demonstrated that he's not only a gifted and ex
<< Montreal rallies late, downs Ducks in SO
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Plekanec fired the game-winning wrister
in the shootout, and the Montreal Canadiens used a late surge in regulation
and a controversial goal in the shootout to edge the Anaheim Ducks, 4-3, at
Honda C
<< Gray, Gonzaga advance to WCC tourney final
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steven Gray scored a game-high 18 points to
go along with seven assists and six rebounds, as No. 18 Gonzaga posted a 77-62
victory over Loyola Marymount in the semifinals of the West Coast Conference
tournam
WTA renews partnership with Sony >>
St. Petersburg, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The WTA Tour and Sony Ericsson announced
a two-year extension of their existing partnership on Sunday.
The deal will now keep Sony as the lead global sponsor for the tour through to
the end of 2012.
"
Blazers C Przybilla to undergo surgery again >>
Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers announced center
Joel Przybilla will undergo surgery on his right patella tendon after he
slipped in the shower at his home in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Przybilla first ruptur
Anthony leads Nuggets past Blazers >>
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony posted 30 points to lead Denver
to a 118-106 victory over Portland in a Northwest Division battle.
J.R. Smith chipped in 22 points, and Chauncey Billups ended with 21, as the
Nuggets shot 58.
Hornets aim to stop skid vs. Warriors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets are in danger of recording their
longest losing streak in three years. Fortunately for the struggling club,
it'll be facing one of the NBA's poorest road teams when the Golden State
Warrior
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards
“You play to win the game!”
Those are the words of notoriously intense head coach Herman Edwards. Unfortunately, from a bettors’ perspective, most coaches don’t feel that way about the NFL preseason. August is a time to evaluate young players, finalize the depth chart and pray your star players stay healthy.
The trick to making money during the exhibition schedule is identifying coaches – like Edwards – who can’t stand losing even when there's nothing on the line.
The New York Jets betting won 15 of 21 preseason games and went 14-7 against the spread (ATS) during Edwards’s five-year tenure with the club. In his first season as the Kansas City Chiefs field boss, the team improved from 0-4 to 2-2.
Identifying win-a-holics like Edwards is a good start if you plan betting the preseason – even though most say you shouldn’t ... but what the hell do they know anyway?
Here’s a brief rundown of two teams that have a habit of winning during the second-stringers’ season, and another club that has a good chance of exceeding this year.
Playing in the media hub of North America can be stressful but the press can’t write anything negative about the way Tom Coughlin’s boys play in the preseason. The Giants won and covered all four games last summer, improving their record to 7-1 both straight up (SU) and against the spread over the last two years.
Coughlin has shown he’s not afraid to give his starters more time in the second preseason game than most of his colleagues, no doubt one of the reasons his team has been so dominant.
Bettors can count on America’s team early on. The Cowboys are 14-6 both SU and ATS since 2002 in warm-up contests. Former coach Bill Parcells, the coach of the team the last four years, has an intimidating, in-your-face presence – surely a reason Dallas has had so much early success.
The Big Tuna won’t be strolling the sidelines with looks of disgust, but new coach Wade Phillips will be anxious to make a good first impression for owner Jerry Jones.
Dallas plays the Indianapolis Colts and the Denver Broncos before things get serious. They then face the Houston Texans in their third contest (the game starters see most game time) and finish off with the Minnesota Vikings.
Expect a Dallas team able to walk away with another 3-1 preseason record.
This team scored a league-worst 12 offensive touchdowns last season, so the rookies and veterans each have something to prove. There’s a bounty of first-unit jobs up for grabs and plenty of bodies competing for those slots.
First-time head coach Lane Kiffin will be eager to impress an owner who employs the philosophy, “Just win, baby!”
The 32-year-old Kiffin has to command respect from a locker room full of players older than him. All of these factors should lead to purpose in preseason.
Don’t forget: before playing like a team that belonged in NFL Europe, Oakland went 4-1 (both SU and ATS) in exhibition games.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football wagering needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting