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Granger helps Pacers to strong finish against RocketsBasketball Betting Lines02/20/2010 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danny Granger tied a season-high with 36 points and Houston native T.J. Ford poured in a season-best 23 as the Indiana Pacers surged late for a 125-115 win over the new-look Rockets. Granger went 12-of-17 from the field, as he and Ford both had 12 points in the big fourth quarter for Indiana, which snapped a four-game skid. Troy Murphy had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Pacers, who finished the game on a 20-7 run. Luis Scola had 25 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out for Houston, which lost for the fourth time in five games. Aaron Brooks had 26 points and seven assists. The Rockets got a roster overhaul this week thanks to Thursday's blockbuster trade that sent Tracy McGrady to the Knicks as part of a three-team, nine- player swap. Kevin Martin, who came from Sacramento, had a rough debut for the Rockets with 14 points, but he finished 3-of-16 from the field. The Rockets also got center Hilton Armstrong from the Kings and forwards Jordan Hill and Jared Jeffries from New York, in addition to the Knicks' first-round draft picks in 2011 and 2012. Armstrong, Hill and Jeffries didn't play Saturday. Scola's reverse layup extended Houston's lead to 108-105 with 5:13 remaining, but the Rockets were their own worst enemy in the second half and it hurt them down the stretch. Six Houston turnovers led to 12 Pacers points in the fourth quarter alone. Those numbers converted to 11 miscues for 21 points in the second half. "We were very active with our hands," Pacers coach Jim O'Brien said. "We had nine steals with Troy Murphy getting four. We talked about how important it is when Brooks drove on pick and rolls that we are very active because he's small. We wanted to get a piece on as many passes as we could. It was our key down the stretch." Ford sank a three-pointer and a pair of other jumpers to start Indiana's monumental push. A dunk from Solomon Jones and two Granger three-pointers moved the margin to 122-110 with 1:12 left. "We had lapses in the third quarter, then in the fourth quarter they gained their confidence with their bread and butter of taking it to the basket and finding their jump shooters," Martin said. Houston led 30-27 after the first quarter and scored the first seven of the second. The Rockets held a 65-54 cushion at the half. Murphy's reverse jam had the Pacers within 77-74 midway through the third, but Houston built the lead back to nine, 88-79, with 3:08 left in the period. Indiana netted the next 11 points and the game was even at 90 moving to the fourth. Game Notes Trevor Ariza had 16 points and nine rebounds for the Rockets, while teammate Chase Budinger scored 11...Granger went 4-of-6 from three-point range..Indiana has won three straight meetings...The Pacers went 11-of-20 from beyond the arc...David Andersen had 11 rebounds for Houston and Shane Battier 10.
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Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Jennings and John Salmons each scored 19 points, as the Milwaukee Bucks held off the Charlotte Bobcats, 93-88. Jennings also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out five assists for the Bucks, wh
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Malibu, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matt Bouldin poured in 18 points and dished out five assists, as the 13th-ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs bounced back into the win column with a 72-54 rout of the Pepperdine Waves in a West Coast Conference clash.
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Horse Betting(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine). The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late. "You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."
Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest. "A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve." When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential: CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped. DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins. PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge. You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike. "You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders." Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of. (By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.) Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout." But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing." Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you." Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front." All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold. In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse. "Now," says Avello, "it's time for action." To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs. |
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