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01/17/2009 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamal Crawford scored a game-high 29 points, and the Golden State Warriors topped the Atlanta Hawks, 119-114, at ORACLE Arena.
Corey Maggette contributed 24 points -- including 14 in the fourth quarter -- and 16 rebounds for the Warriors, who have won two of three. Stephen Jackson added 24 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals after missing the last four games with a hamstring injury.
Andris Biedrins had 10 points and nine rebounds, while Kelenna Azubuike posted 11 points for Golden State.
Joe Johnson had a team-high 25 points -- only four in the second half -- for the Hawks, who have lost five of six. Maurice Evans had a season-high 21 points, and Zaza Pachulia posted 14 points and eight rebounds in the loss.
Josh Smith had 13 points, while Mike Bibby had 20 points, seven assists, six rebounds and four steals for Atlanta.
Leading by four to start the fourth, Golden State scored the first six points to make it a 91-81 contest.
Maggette made a couple free throws and then added a basket to make it 100-88 in favor of the Warriors with 7:01 to go, but Evans' dunk pulled the Hawks back to within seven with 5 1/2 minutes left.
Bibby followed with back-to-back threes to make it a one-point Hawks deficit, 102-101, a minute later.
Flip Murray drained another three and added a transition bucket to cap Atlanta's 18-2 run and put the team ahead, 106-102.
The Warriors answered with an 8-0 burst, as Crawford had six during the spurt. His jumper with 1:23 to go put the Warriors back ahead, 110-106.
Bibby missed a three on the ensuing possession, and Golden State drained its free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
Jackson had eight points in the first quarter, and the Warriors held a 23-20 edge after the opening 12 minutes.
Golden State led, 56-51, at halftime.
A back-and-forth third quarter saw the Warriors retain their slight lead, as Crawford's jumper put the hosts up, 85-81, heading into the fourth.
Game Notes
The teams split the season series, 1-1...Golden State has won nine of the last 14 meetings with Atlanta...The Warriors are now 2-1 on a seven-game homestand and will host Washington, Oklahoma City, Cleveland and the Clippers.
<< Drury, Rangers top Chicago in OT
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Drury's second goal of the contest, a
power-play marker with 2:37 left in overtime, sent the New York Rangers past
Chicago, 3-2, at United Center.
With Chicago forward Andrew Ladd in the box for s
<< Horcoff helps Oilers edge Avs
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shawn Horcoff's third period tally was the
difference, and the Edmonton Oilers narrowly edged the Colorado Avalanche,
3-2, at the Pepsi Center.
Steve Staios and Tom Gilbert also scored for the Oilers,
<< T'Wolves pick up win in Phoenix
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Al Jefferson scored 22 points and grabbed 12
rebounds to help the Minnesota Timberwolves upend the Suns, 105-103, and win
in Phoenix for the first time since February 6, 2006.
Craig Smith added 18 and se
<< Mavs' Cuban fined again
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban was fined
$25,000 by the NBA on Friday for his actions during Tuesday's game against the
Denver Nuggets.
Cuban protested a non-call on an apparent elbow thrown by Denver's
Magic Trick: Nelson, Howard power Orlando past Lakers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jameer Nelson poured in 15 of his 28 points
in the fourth quarter, including a trio of three-pointers, as the Orlando
Magic pulled off an unprecedented season sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers
behind
Bucs dismiss Gruden and Allen; Morris reportedly in as coach >>
Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers dismissed
head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Bruce Allen on Friday.
Gruden was named the seventh head coach in Buccaneers history in February of
2002 and led the
Nalbandian outlasts Nieminen for Sydney crown >>
Sydney, Australia (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Nalbandian of Argentina gutted out
a three-set victory over Finland's Jarkko Nieminen to capture the Medibank
International title on Saturday.
The fourth-seeded Nalbandian posted a 6-3, 6-7
Casey takes four-shot lead with stellar 63 >>
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Casey fired a bogey-
free, nine-under 63 Saturday to take a four-stroke lead after three rounds of
the Abu Dhabi Championship.
Casey completed 54 holes at 19-under-par 197. His t
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.
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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