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03/10/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Gay led a potent Memphis attack with 28 points, as the Grizzlies' ran their road winning streak to seven games with a convincing 111-91 win over the Celtics.
O.J. Mayo notched 17 points, and Marcus Williams scored 16 off the bench. Zach Randolph returned from a stiff back to add 13 points and 10 rebounds for Memphis, which is riding the longest road winning streak in franchise history and has won four of five overall.
Rajon Rondo and Ray Allen each scored 17 points for the Celtics, who lost their second in a row following a four-game win streak. Paul Pierce had 14 points and Rasheed Wallace 11.
Memphis rolled to a 27-12 lead after 12 minutes and were up 20, 33-13, in the early going of the second after opening with a 6-1 spurt.
The Grizzlies kept pouring it on, as Mike Conley's three-pointer and a Mayo reverse layup to follow made it 43-22 with 5 1/2 minutes left. The margin at halftime saw the Grizzlies' ahead 55-33.
Boston got its offense on track in the third quarter, nearly matching the output for the first half with a 30-point frame. The C's used a quick 9-0 burst to get within 14 on a Pierce three at the seven-minute mark, but Memphis' lead remained in double digits, 82-63, beginning the final period.
Hasheem Thabeet and Sam Young put in a pair of high-percentage baskets early in the fourth to run the difference to 22. By the time Gay and Pierce traded threes at the halfway point, the visitors had built a 102-77 advantage to win going away.
Game Notes
Memphis shot 55 percent from the floor compared with Boston's 43.8-percent effort...The Grizzlies halted a six-game losing streak in this series. Memphis last defeated the Celtics on December 6, 2006...Michael Finley scored 10 points in his second game with the Celtics. Kevin Garnett was 3-of-9 from the field for six points and added seven boards, while Nate Robinson was scoreless in nearly 15 minutes off the bench...Conley had 12 points, Young scored 11 and Marc Gasol secured 10 boards with seven points and five assists in the win...The Grizzlies' last road loss came at Minnesota on February 6.
<< Devils double up Rangers
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner was one of
six different goal-scorers, as New Jersey doubled up the New York Rangers,
6-3, at Prudential Center.
Langenbrunner, Brian Rolston, Travis Zajac and Rob Niede
<< Fleischmann, Capitals edge Hurricanes in overtime
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Fleischmann scored with 1:40
remaining in overtime to lift the Washington Capitals to a 4-3 victory over
the Carolina Hurricanes at Verizon Center.
In the extra session, Fleischmann hamme
<< Sabres continue winning ways against Stars
Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Thomas Vanek scored the eventual game-winner
midway through the second period, as the Buffalo Sabres continued their recent
dominance over the Dallas Stars with a 5-3 victory at HSBC Arena.
The Sabres have
<< Bobcats handle Sixers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Gerald Wallace led all scorers with 28
points on 9-of-10 shooting to push the Charlotte Bobcats past the Philadelphia
76ers, 102-87, at the Wachovia Center.
Stephen Jackson added 24 points and 10 reb
Billups, Nuggets send T'Wolves to seventh straight loss >>
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups delivered 25 points to
lead Denver in a 110-102 final over Minnesota at the Target Center.
Carmelo Anthony recorded 19 points, six rebounds and five assists for the
Nuggets, who wo
Red-hot Thunder dominate Hornets >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant scored a team-high 29 points
to lead the red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder to a decisive 98-83 win over the New
Orleans Hornets at Ford Center.
Russell Westbrook had a near-triple double with
Wade, Heat rout Clippers >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade poured in 27 points, dished out eight
assists, and pulled down six rebounds, as the Miami Heat led wire-to-wire in a
108-97 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Jermaine O'Neal donated 19 points and
Ginobili helps Spurs hold off Knicks >>
San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Manu Ginobili poured in a game-best 28
points to go with six rebounds and five assists, as the San Antonio Spurs used
a late surge to hold off the New York Knicks, 97-87.
Tim Duncan added 18 points an
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.
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:
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.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
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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