11/29/2008 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Roy logged a terrific all-around effort with 25 points, 10 assists and six rebounds to carry Portland to a 101-86 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.
LaMarcus Aldridge scored 17 points and grabbed seven boards for the Trail Blazers, who finished off a perfect three-game homestand. Steve Blake and Nicolas Batum had 14 and 12 points, respectively, in the victory.
Chris Paul registered 16 points, six assists and six rebounds as the Hornets lost for the first time in five games. Peja Stojakovic posted team-high 21 points in defeat.
Trailing 69-65 with less than four minutes to go in the third, the Blazers went on a game-changing 17-0 run that spanned into the fourth to pull away. New Orleans missed seven consecutive field goals to end the third and trailed 77-69 after the period.
Portland hit all eight free throw attempts during the stretch and Rudy Fernandez's three-pointer brought the crowd to its feet, capping the spurt with the Blazers leading 82-69 with 10 minutes left in the game.
Stojakovic's jumper made it a 93-82 game with 3 1/2 minutes remaining, but Aldridge hit a long jumper and Roy sunk two free throws to keep the visitors at bay.
Portland's inside-outside game helped give the club a 31-26 lead after the opening period.
James Posey's three-pointer followed by a Paul layup gave the Hornets their first lead of the game with less than a minute to go in the second, but Batum sunk a three-ball to put the Blazers ahead 50-48 at the break.
Game Notes
The Blazers are 7-0 at home this season...The home team has won nine straight and 12 of the last 13 contests in the series...Greg Oden only scored one point but grabbed eight rebounds for Portland...Posey and Fernandez each had 10 points off the bench for their respective teams.
<< Jazz give Kings a royal thrashing
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mehmet Okur led eight Utah players in
double figures with 20 points and 12 rebounds, as the Jazz crushed the
Sacramento Kings, 120-94.
Deron Williams finished with 15 assists and 13 points f
<< Felton leads Bobcats past Pacers in OT
Indianapolis, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raymond Felton tied a career-high with 31
points to lead Charlotte to its first road win of the season, a 115-108
overtime triumph over the Indiana Pacers.
Emeka Okafor scored 13 and pulled down
<< Sharks stay hot, crush Stars in Dallas
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Boyle scored twice and Ryane Clowe recorded
three assists, as the red-hot San Jose Sharks stomped the Dallas Stars, 6-2,
in a Pacific Division clash at the American Airlines Center.
Joe Pavelski had a g
<< Parker returns as Spurs top Grizzlies
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Parker had 15 points and seven
assists in his first game back after missing nine tilts with a sprained
ankle to lead the Spurs in a 109-98 victory over the Grizzlies.
Parker originally
Reynolds, Wildcats top Towson >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Scottie Reynolds scored 14 points to pace
20th-ranked Villanova to a 64-47 win over Towson in the Philly Hoop Group
Classic.
Dante Cunningham and Antonio Pena both had 12 points for the Wildcats (5
Luke Richardson set to retire >>
Ottawa, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - One day after being placed on waivers by the
Ottawa Senators, defenseman Luke Richardson announced Friday that he is ready
to move on from the National Hockey League.
Richardson, 39, skated in just two gam
Nats P Redding has surgery on toe >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Washington Nationals right-hander Tim
Redding had surgery on his left foot on Friday.
The procedure was performed by Dr. Wiemi Douoguih and Dr. Lew Schon, who
repaired the bone in the joint
Bryant sparks comeback win over Mavs as Lakers keep rolling >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant scored 13 of his season-high 35
points in the fourth quarter, guiding the Los Angeles Lakers to a 114-107
comeback win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Bryant finished 14-of-26 from the field,
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
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