12/03/2008 - Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwight Howard finished with 23 points, 14 rebounds and blocked six shots to help the Orlando Magic to a 100-89 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Rashard Lewis also scored 23 points, while Hedo Turkoglu added 22 for the Magic, who shot 56.9 percent from the floor. Courtney Lee shot 8-of-10 to add 19 points off the bench for Orlando, which rebounded from a loss to Boston on Monday to win its fifth out of six.
Al Jefferson had 19 points and eight rebounds to pace Minnesota, which has lost three in a row. Kevin Love finished with 16 points and 12 boards for the T'Wolves, who had five players finish in double figures.
The Magic held just a six-point lead at halftime, but shortly into the third quarter took command of the game.
Ryan Gomes opened the third with back-to-back jumpers to get Minnesota within 44-42, but Orlando set off on a 20-4 run sparked by a Turkoglu basket and Lewis three-pointer.
Turkoglu later drilled another triple, and ended the stretch with a jumper to increase Orlando's lead to 64-46 with a little more than two minutes remaining. The Magic led 70-50 going into the fourth, and never led by less than 10 the rest of the way.
A Lewis three-pointer and Turkoglu basket capped the back-and-forth first quarter to give Orlando a 23-17 lead. The T-Wolves briefly took the lead in the second, but six straight Orlando points extended its lead to 40-32 after a Lee layup with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the half. The Magic held the margin, and a Randy Foye jumper just before the break trimmed Orlando's lead to 44-38 at the intermission.
Game Notes
Foye finished with 13 points for Minnesota, while Gomes had 11 and Rashad McCants scored 14...The Magic went 10-for-21 from three-point range...The T'Wolves shot 41.4 percent from the floor, and went just 2-of-9 from beyond the arc.
<< Bryant leads Lakers over Sixers
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his game-high 32
points in the fourth quarter, as the Lakers quickly got back in the win column
with a 114-102 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center.
Bryant,
<< Johnson helps Hawks keep Grizzlies in loss column
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Johnson scored 26 points as Atlanta sent
Memphis to its seventh straight loss with a 105-95 decision at Philips Arena.
Josh Smith, who had missed the previous 12 games due to a high left ankle
sprai
<< Flynn leads No. 16 Syracuse past Cornell
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonny Flynn scored 24 points and added six
assists, as 16th-ranked Syracuse overcame a double-digit deficit early to
notch an 88-78 win over Cornell.
Paul Harris added 21 points and nine rebounds fo
<< Smith's triple-double carries Volunteers to rout of UNC-Asheville
Knoxville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyler Smith recorded the first triple-double
in Tennessee history with 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists, leading the
10th-ranked Volunteers past the UNC-Asheville Bulldogs, 87-69, and helping
head co
Cavs go to 10-0 at home with rout of Knicks >>
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James scored 21 points, dished out six
assists, grabbed five rebounds and had five steals to lead Cleveland in a
118-82 rout of New York, as the Cavaliers won their 10th in a row at home to
set a f
Quinn undergoes successful surgery on finger >>
Berea, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Browns quarterback Brady Quinn
underwent successful surgery on Wednesday to repair his broken right index
finger, an injury he sustained in a November 17 game against Buffalo.
Quinn broke
Zherdev, Rangers top Pens in SO >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nikolai Zherdev netted the game-winner in the
shootout, as the New York Rangers edged Pittsburgh, 3-2, at Madison Square
Garden.
After Markus Naslund scored on the opening shot for New York, Miroslav Sa
Boston wins 10th straight behind Rondo's triple-double >>
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rajon Rondo finished with 17 assists, 16 points
and 13 rebounds, as the Boston Celtics beat the Indiana Pacers, 114-96, for
their 10th consecutive win.
Rondo's triple-double was the Celtics' first since
Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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