05/08/2008 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Pierce paced a balanced Boston attack with 19 points and six rebounds as the Celtics routed Cleveland, 89-73, in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Kevin Garnett added 13 points and 12 boards for the Celtics, who took a 2-0 series lead with the win.
Ray Allen, who was held scoreless for the first time since February 26, 1997 in the opener of this series, bounced back with 16 points for Boston, which is a perfect 6-0 at home in the postseason.
LeBron James scored 21 points but was just 6-of-24 from the floor for the Cavaliers. The Cavs superstar is now shooting a miserable 8-of-42 in the series.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas netted 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while Wally Szczerbiak finished with 13 for Cleveland.
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Saturday in Cleveland.
The Celtics trailed by as many as 12 points, 21-9, in the first quarter after James deposited a reverse layup with just over three minutes left.
Boston rebounded a bit from there but was still down by seven points, 24-17, after the opening 12 minutes.
The Celtics continued to turn things around early in the second quarter when James took a seat on the bench. Boston used a staunch defense to run off a 13-3 spurt to start the frame and jump in front for the first time. Sam Cassell drained a long pull-up jumper with 5:21 left until intermission to cap the run and give the Celtics a 30-27 edge.
Szczerbiak finally halted the Boston momentum, momentarily, with a three. But the Celtics then rattled off nine straight points, featuring a pair of Garnett slams, to take their biggest lead of the half, 39-30.
Cassell's driving layup at the second quarter buzzer gave Boston a 44-36 lead heading into the locker room.
The Celtics really put things away by opening up the third quarter with a 10-0 burst. Allen fueled the run with a driving layup and a pair of free throws before Pierce finished it with a driving layup of his own to give Boston a commanding 54-36 advantage.
The Cavs managed to close the gap to 12, 56-44, after Szczerbiak and James deposited back-to-back buckets but the Celtics quickly restored order and pushed the lead to 20 with a 10-2 burst. Allen hit Leon Powe under the bucket for an easy slam to highlight the spurt and Boston led 66-46 with 2:38 left in the third.
The Celtics took a more-than-comfortable 70-51 edge into the final frame.
James tried to get things going for the Cavs by opening the fourth quarter with a driving layup but Cleveland just couldn't muster much of a push.
A few minutes later, Allen dropped in a pair of free throws after a Daniel Gibson clear path foul and Boston had its largest lead of the night, 80-56, with 8:57 remaining.
The Celtics coasted to the finish line from there.
Ilgauskas helped Cleveland roar out of the gates with a 10-2 run by making the Cavs' first four shots of the game.
But, any excitement for Cleveland over the quick start was tempered when big man Ben Wallace was forced to leave the contest with bouts of dizziness.
Wallace left with 8:20 left in the first quarter and nearly collapsed after walking toward his bench. The defensive standout was taken to the locker room and never returned.
The Celtics recovered from the slow start when Garnett hit a bank shot and Pierce stroked a three, but Cleveland continued to shoot well early and built its lead up to 12 points, 21-9.
Game Notes
The Celtics bench outscored Cleveland's 34-17...The Cavaliers are 2-3 on the road in this year's playoffs...This is the fourth time these teams have met in the postseason. Boston defeated the Cavaliers in six games, 4-2, in the 1976 East finals, and in four contests, 3-1, in the first round of the 1985 playoffs. Cleveland knocked out the Celtics in seven games in the 1992 East semis...During the regular season, the Celtics and Cavaliers split four contests. Both teams won a pair of games on their home court.
<< Lo Duca, Estrada to go on DL
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals are expected to
place a pair of catchers, Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada, on the 15-day
disabled list on Friday.
The club is also expected to recall catcher Jesus F
<< McKay leads at Kingsmill; Sorenstam, Ochoa lurking
Williamsburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mhairi McKay fired an eight-under-par 63
Thursday to take the lead after the opening round of the Michelob ULTRA Open
at Kingsmill.
McKay, who is winless on the LPGA Tour, tied the course record wit
<< Cavs' Wallace leaves game with dizziness
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers big man Ben Wallace was
forced out of Tuesday's Game 2 Eastern Conference semifinal matchup against
Boston with bouts of dizziness.
Wallace left early in the first quarter and nea
<< Garcia leads Players Championship by two
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain's Sergio Garcia fired a six-
under-par 66 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of The Players
Championship.
Kenny Perry and Paul Goydos both shot rounds of four-under 68 to sha
Gainey, two others share lead in Arkansas >>
Fort Smith, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Gainey posted a six-under 64 Thursday
to grab a share of the lead after the opening round of the Fort Smith Classic.
Gainey was joined atop the leaderboard by Matt Weibring and Kris Cox.
There is a
Chicago continues to roll against D.C. United >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Mapp and Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored
and Jon Busch posted his fourth shutout as the Chicago Fire beat D.C. United,
2-0, in Major League Soccer on Thursday night.
Chicago improved to 3-0-1 on the roa
Red Wings use power play to get past Stars in Game 1 >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Holmstrom posted a goal and an assist, as
the Detroit Red Wings downed the Dallas Stars, 4-1, in Game 1 of their Western
Conference finals series from Joe Louis Arena.
Brian Rafalski, Johan Franzen and
Youkilis, Beckett lead Boston past Detroit >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer, as Boston
topped Detroit, 5-1, in the finale of a four-game series at Comerica Park.
Jason Varitek also drove in two for the Red Sox, who won three of four in the
set and
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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Matt Kenseth And Kevin Harvick Favorites To Take NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship
(September 15)—The NASCAR season has hit the homestretch with the opening event on this year’s Chase for the Cup taking place this weekend at the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire International Speedway. With 10 races remaining to determine the Cup Series champion, leading online sportsbook MySportsbook.com today announced odds on all 10 Chase qualifying drivers capturing the NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship.
One of the largest sportsbook sites on the Internet, MySportsbook.com currently lists the top two drivers in the point standings as the early favorites to win the Nextel Cup. Entering the Chase for the Cup with a slim five-point lead in the point standings, 2003 NASCAR champ Matt Kenseth has been made a slight favorite to win his second Cup at 7/2 betting odds. 2001 Cup Rookie of the Year Kevin Harvick has betting odds listed at 5/2 and four-time NASCAR champion Jeff Gordon is listed at 6/1 to capture the Nextel Cup this year.
Hoping to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father who won six NASCAR titles, Dale Earnhardt Jr. stands at 8/1 to breakthrough with his first Cup victory. Staying with the family theme, MySportsbook.com lists 2005 Rookie of the Year Kyle Busch at 14/1 to succeed big brother Kurt’s 2004 NASCAR title. While Kasey Kahne was the final driver to qualify for the Chase with a third place finish last week, the oddsmakers give him a fighting chance at 10/1 mainly due to several mile-and-a-half tracks remaining on the schedule. Despite going winless on the NASCAR circuit this season, Jeff Burton enters the Chase at 5/1 to capture the Cup title. Meanwhile, rookie Denny Hamlin is 4/1 to win the championship, while veteran driver Mark Martin enters the Chase for the Cup as a 15/1 long shot to win his first NASCAR title in his 24th and final season.
MySportsbook.com will offer comprehensive Nascar betting lines on every race remaining on the Nextel Cup series including driver match-ups, props and odds to win each race. For a complete list of NASCAR odds, please visit www.MySportsbook.com.
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