Thunder continue road trip at Sacramento
Basketball Betting Lines
02/09/2012 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA-leading Oklahoma City Thunder have been moving
along quite steadily this season and will try to keep it that way when they
resume a five-game road trip tonight against the Sacramento Kings.
Oklahoma City is coming off Tuesday's 119-116 victory over the Golden State Warriors in which Kevin Durant poured in a team-best 33 points on 13-of-27
shooting, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out seven assists. Durant, who hit
the go-ahead basket with 14.2 seconds left, has scored 30 or more points in
five of his last seven games, averaging 31.4 ppg in that span.
Russell Westbrook also hit the 30-point mark with 31 points and James Harden
provided 19 in a reserve role. The Thunder survived a 48-point performance by
Warriors guard Monta Ellis and a triple-double from big man David Lee (25 p,
11 r, 10 a). Thunder head coach Scott Brooks was pleased with the effort.
"Our guys never gave up. We fought back and continued to believe in each
other," Brooks said following his team's 15th win in 18 tries.
Daequan Cook scored 17 points for the Thunder, who have the league's best
record at 20-5 and improved to 11-4 away from home this season. Oklahoma City
will close out the journey Friday against the Utah Jazz. Thunder guard Thabo
Sefolosha missed his sixth consecutive game with right foot soreness and is
still out indefinitely.
The Northwest Division-leading Thunder are one of only four Western Conference
teams (Denver, Minnesota and the LA Clippers) to boast a winning road record.
Sacramento is in the basement of the Pacific Division and had a season-high
three-game winning streak come to an end with Tuesday's 86-84 loss at
Minnesota. Marcus Thornton had a team-best 22 points and DeMarcus Cousins
recorded a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
"We had an opportunity for a shot but it didn't go down," said Sacramento head
coach Keith Smart. "The players fought and played well enough to get back into
the game after a really bad first quarter."
Kings rookie Jimmer Fredette scored 13 points as a reserve and Tyreke Evans
posted 11 points for the Kings, losers in six of nine games. The Kings will
close out the homestand Saturday versus Phoenix and are 6-4 as the host.
Minnesota's Nikola Pekovic abused the Kings to the tune of 23 points and 10
rebounds, and earned the attention of Sacramento head coach Keith Smart.
"He is a man down there," Smart said of Pekovic. "He plays in the trenches
where you have to play with a physical game and that young man has been
playing well for over a week and a half now."
Cousins has recorded 17 double-doubles this season, third-most in the NBA
this season (behind Kevin Love and Dwight Howard), and is averaging 19.7 ppg
and 16.7 rpg in the last three, recording double-doubles in each contest.
Cousins recorded 26 double-doubles as a rookie last season.
Sacramento lost all four meetings with the Thunder last season and is winless
in the past six matchups between the teams. Oklahoma City has won nine of 10
and 10 of the last 13 encounters with the Kings. Durant is averaging 28.3
points in 14 career games against Sacramento.
The Kings have lost all five visits to Oklahoma City.
<< Celtics, Lakers renew rivalry in Beantown
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pro basketball's most storied rivalry resumes in Beantown
on Thursday, when the streaking Boston Celtics aim to complete a perfect five-
game homestand versus the despised Los Angeles Lakers.
The Celtics (17) and Lake
<< Rangers try to rebound against Lightning
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Rangers will try to rebound from a
controversial loss when they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning for tonight's
battle at Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers dropped a 1-0 regulation decision Tuesday against the
<< Habs aim to make it three straight in clash with Isles
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Montreal Canadiens will try to post their longest
winning streak in over three months when they visit the New York Islanders
tonight at Nassau Coliseum.
The Canadiens have recorded recent home wins over Winnipeg and Pi
<< OVC action pits Racers against Tigers
Murray, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The ninth-ranked Murray State Racers will once
again march out on the court to defend their perfect record as they host the
Tennessee State Tigers in an Ohio Valley Conference clash at the CFSB Center.
This will
<< Rivals meet up in Starkville for SEC action
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Instate rivals collide in Starkville this
evening, as the 20th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs play host to the Ole
Miss Rebels in an SEC affair at the Humphrey Coliseum.
Rick Stansbury's Bulldogs can't af
Banged-up Nuggets try to snap skid vs. Warriors >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets are not making excuses that injuries are
the main reason why they're mired in a season-high four-game losing streak.
"We have a lot of young talent and a lot of players with experience. We have a
long be
Nash, Suns host Rockets in the desert >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Nash celebrated his 38th birthday in style the last
time out for the Phoenix Suns, who look to extend their season-high winning
streak to four straight games this evening at home versus the Houston Rockets.
Nash
Argentines set to face host Germans in Davis Cup >>
Bamberg, Germany (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Last year's runner-up Argentina will
battle host Germany in an opening-round Davis Cup tie this weekend.
The best-of-five affair will commence with a pair of opening singles rubbers
on Friday, as
Wings, Leafs to meet in 2013 Winter Classic at the Big House >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs
will play in the 2013 Winter Classic at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman made the announcement Thursday at Comerica Park
in Detroit,
Whiting seeks another Run for the Roses >>
Hot Springs, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's been 20 years since trainer Lynn
Whiting saddled longshot colt Lil E. Tee to win the 118th Kentucky Derby. The
Midwest conditioner has another three-year-old in his stable at Oaklawn Park
giving
Big 12 Conference betting odds
Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State
Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.
Work left to do:
Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.
Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.
Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.
LaDainian Tomlinson Favorite to be 2007 NFL MVP
With the first NFL preseason game less than two weeks away, it is time to start thinking about football once again at MySportsbook.com. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson is currently the 5-1 co-favorite to win the award again alongside Super Bowl MVP Peyton Manning.
This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone after his all out assault on the record books last season. For those suffering from amnesia or were under a rock last football season, all L.T. did last season was set the NFL record for rushing touchdowns (28), total touchdowns (31) and total points scored (186) to go along with his 1815 rushing yards and 508 receiving yards. At 6-1, Tom Brady is next in line which isn’t surprising considering all of the firepower the Pats added over the off-season. With the addition of Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth and Wes Welker; it would be quite difficult for Brady’s numbers not to improve from last years 3529 yards and 24 touchdowns. There appears to be some decent value in Drew Bees at 10-1 considering he probably would have won the award last year if it wasn’t for L.T.’s record breaking season.
There is no reason to think the Saints will come back to earth this season and playing in a weak NFC, they should have as good a shot as any to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. At 15-1, Donovan McNabb could also be worth a look. Remember, many felt he was the MVP of the first half of the season before going down with a season ending injury. Reportedly, he is in great shape and well ahead of schedule to return to form. Also, he could have some added motivation to put up big numbers this season with the Eagles using their first pick in the draft on McNabb’s future successor Kevin Kolb.
Be sure to log on to MySportsbook.com to check out the complete odds for NFL MVP as well as all of the new football related futures. With the popularity of NFL futures, these betting lines will be sure to change as the money comes in; get the early sports lines now.
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