James leads Heat past Bucks
Basketball Betting Lines
02/13/2012 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James scored 35 points and the Miami Heat snapped a three-game losing streak to the Milwaukee Bucks with a 114-96 win on Monday night.
The Heat, in the midst of a three-games-in-three-days stretch, avoided falling to the Bucks for the third time in less than a month. They snapped a losing streak to the Central Division team that dated back to April of last year.
James scored 16 of his 35 points in the third quarter, punctuating the effort by racing past three defenders for a thunderous one-handed dunk that put the NBA's second-leading scorer over 30 points for the first time in five games.
The Heat moved to 6-1 since their most recent loss to the Bucks on February 1 and are 2-0 on their tough back-to-back-to-back stretch of three road games in three nights. They are 3-1 overall on a season-long six-game road trip.
"We took last night like it was its own game and we did the same thing tonight," said James. "Now we move on to Indiana to close it out."
Carlos Delfino had 24 points to lead the Bucks, who are 2-5 since their last win over Miami. They trailed by as many as 24 points and fell to 0-2 on a three-game homestand.
The Heat were able to rest their three stars for most of the fourth quarter one night after James and Dwyane Wade sat out the entire fourth in a 20-point rout of Atlanta and Chris Bosh rested for most of it.
Wade scored 20 of his 22 points, and Bosh had six of his eight, in the first three quarters as Miami held a commanding 90-74 lead going into the fourth.
James' dunk, which came after he slipped past one defender at the point and split two more in the paint, gave Miami its 16-point lead with 4.2 seconds left in the frame.
The Heat shot nearly 52 percent from the field and made half of their 14 three-point attempts, leading Bucks head coach Scott Skiles to lament his team's porous defense.
But there were some shots the Bucks couldn't do anything about, like a couple of fadeaway jumpers James knocked down in front of their bench that Skiles thought looked particularly difficult.
"Maybe they're easy for him," the coach qualified.
The rout wasn't on until James went off in the third quarter. Milwaukee led 30-27 after the first and trailed just 55-50 at halftime. But the Heat shot 65 percent in the third quarter, starting it with a 19-6 run led by James.
"We hung in there the first quarter and did some nice things," said Skiles. "We're an average defensive team, and we can't afford to be."
Game Notes
Mario Chalmers had 13 points for Miami, while Drew Gooden and Brandon Jennings scored 12 apiece for Milwaukee. Jennings scored just four points over the last three quarters...The Heat play the Pacers on Tuesday...Milwaukee's three-game homestand ends against New Orleans on Wednesday. It started with a loss to Orlando on Saturday.
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Eric Staal netted two goals and added an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 5-3 win over the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Jamie McBain had a goal and an assist, while Jiri Tlust
<< No. 13 Tennessee rips No. 7 Kentucky
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Meighan Simmonds poured in a game-high 25
points as No. 13 Tennessee routed No. 7 Kentucky, 91-54, on Monday.
Shekinna Stricklen posted 18 points and six rebounds for the Lady Vols (18-7,
9-3 SEC), who s
<< Balanced Magic beat Timberwolves by 13
Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Richardson had 17 points and was one of
six Magic players to score in double figures Monday as Orlando took down the
Minnesota Timberwolves, 102-89.
Jameer Nelson, J.J. Redick and Hedo Turkoglu fin
<< Sixers hand Bobcats 15th straight loss
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lou Williams scored 23 points and fellow
reserve Thaddeus Young added 20 to help the Philadelphia 76ers down the
struggling Charlotte Bobcats, 98-89, on Monday.
Kemba Walker nearly carried the Bob
<< No. 13 Tennessee rips Kentucky
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Meighan Simmonds poured in a game-high 25
points as No. 13 Tennessee routed Kentucky, 91-54, at Thompson-Boling Arena.
Shekinna Stricklen posted 18 points and six rebounds for the Lady Vols (18-7,
9-3 SE
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Kaman had 27 points and 13 rebounds and the New Orleans Hornets overcame a late Utah rally to down the Jazz, 86-80, on Monday. Gustavo Ayon netted 13 points to go with nine rebounds and three
Pavelski picks up 4 points as Sharks top Caps >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Pavelski totaled four points on two
goals and two assists as San Jose dealt Washington a 5-3 defeat at Verizon
Center.
Patrick Marleau contributed a pair of goals and Brent Burns also scored
No. 4 Kansas tops Kansas State >>
Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyshawn Taylor totaled 20 points, five
rebounds and five assists as No. 4 Kansas got past Kansas State, 59-53,
at Bramlage Coliseum.
Jeff Withey added 18 points with 11 rebounds for the Jayhawk
Arnold's OT strike gives BC Beanpot title >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Arnold's tally with 6.4 seconds remaining
in overtime sent Boston College to a 3-2 victory over Boston University to
claim the championship of the 60th annual Beanpot at TD Garden.
Arnold accepted a
No. 2 Connecticut thumps Oklahoma >>
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiffany Hayes poured in a game-high 23 points to
go with six rebounds, seven assists and three steals as second-ranked
Connecticut easily took down Oklahoma, 73-55, on Monday.
Bria Hartley had 20 poin
Chiefs' Treen Green out for Sunday's game
How long Trent Green will remain sidelined is unknown. Coach Herm Edwards said Monday he will miss a second straight start Sunday when the Chiefs host the San Francisco 49ers.
A two-time Pro Bowler, Green was going into a feet-first hook slide when he was knocked unconscious by a thunderous, head-snapping hit from Cincinnati's Robert Geathers.
Oddsmakers at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com currently have the Chiefs listed as 7-point favorites versus the 49ers.
The 49ers got beat by Philadelphia 38-24 as a 6.5-point underdog last week. The combined score went OVER the posted over/under total (42.5).
Alex Smith completed 27-of-46 passes for 293 yards with a touchdown. Michael Robinson rushed for 29 yards and a pair of touchdowns on five carries.
The Chiefs lost 9-6 to Denver last week as an 11-point underdog. The combined score was well UNDER the posted over/under total (38).
Larry Johnson rushed for 126 yards on 27 carries. Damon Huard completed 17-of-23 passes for 133 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
To visit this online sports book got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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