11/18/2008 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Mason scored 21 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 8.4 seconds left in the game, to lead the streaking San Antonio Spurs in an 86-83 victory over the struggling Los Angeles Clippers.
Tim Duncan added 20 points, 15 rebounds and four assists for the Spurs, who have won a season-high three games in a row. Michael Finley had 19 points in the win.
Cuttino Mobley had 18 points for the Clippers, who have dropped three straight and nine of their 10 games this season. Chris Kaman chipped in 17 points and 13 boards in defeat. Baron Davis ended with 11 points and eight helpers.
A 9-2 Spurs run to open the fourth gave the visitors a 77-66 lead with just over 9 1/2 minutes remaining in the game. Duncan had four and Finley recorded five points on the run, while Eric Gordon's layup provided the only points for LA.
Still down 11 moments later, five points from the Davis's -- the first three from Ricky Davis and the next two from Baron Davis -- pulled the Clippers within six points, 81-75, with 5:50 showing on the scoreboard.
Mason dropped a jumper, but the Clippers poured in eight straight points to knot the contest up. Baron Davis hit a free throw to spark the surge, Kaman added two layups and Mobley drained a three to cap the 13-2 run with 1:04 showing on the clock.
Then, following a Mobley missed three, Duncan grabbed the rebound and the Spurs called a timeout.
On the inbounds, Mason took the ball and nailed a three from the top-right corner of the arc for an 86-83 San Antonio lead with 8.4 ticks left to play.
"Coach (Gregg Popovich) drew the play for me, I got it and wanted to make the best of it," said Mason. "Coach told me to take my time and when Ricky (Davis) backed off I drilled it."
For the final play of the game, Baron Davis took the inbounds pass, dribbled around just inside the half court line, passed to Ricky Davis, who kicked it right back to Baron Davis on the right wing.
"We're not getting good looks. I thought San Antonio spaced the floor well and got good looks," said Baron Davis. "We can do better offensively, we have to find a way to get better looks."
His desperation, off-balance three-pointer caromed off the glass as time expired to give the Spurs their ninth straight victory over the Clippers.
The Clippers jumped out to a 23-21 leaed after the first quarter. However, the Spurs took the lead, 43-38, at the break.
Mobley's layup brought the Clippers within four points, but Finley nailed a three-pointer and Duncan netted a jumper to give San Antonio a 58-49 lead with 4:50 left in the third.
The Spurs led by as many as 10 points in the third, but an 8-2 LA run to close out the stanza pulled the home team within 68-64 heading into the fourth. Mike Taylor accounted for six of the points, including a last-second shot.
Game Notes
LA shot 3-of-16 from three-point range, while the Spurs were 8-of-20 from behind the arc...The Spurs improved to 3-2 away from home this season and reached the .500 mark for the first time this season (5-5)...San Antonio has won 17 of 18, 19 of 21 and 22 of the past 25 matchups against the Clippers. It has also won five in a row as the guest in this series.
<< Dawson wins battle of kickers; Browns edge Bills
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Dawson's 56-yard field goal gave the
Browns the lead with 1:39 to play, and Rian Lindell pushed his 45-yard attempt
wide right in the final minute as the Cleveland Browns held on for a 29-27 win
over th
<< Setoguchi and Marleau lead Sharks past Preds
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Devin Setoguchi and Patrick Marleau both
registered a goal and an assist, as the San Jose Sharks bested the Nashville
Predators, 4-1, at the Sommet Center.
Jody Shelley and Tomas Plihal also scored
<< Jazz beat Suns
Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Boozer and C.J. Miles scored 21
points apiece to lead the injury-ravaged Utah Jazz to an impressive 109-97
victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Utah, playing without star guard Deron Williams (ank
<< Houston's McGrady leaves game early, Artest follows suit
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston Rockets guard Tracy McGrady left
in the third quarter of Monday's 100-89 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder
with a knee injury and forward Ron Artest came out in the final minute after
twistin
Matthews leads Marquette past Chicago State >>
Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Wesley Matthews scored a team-high 26 points
and grabbed nine rebounds, and the 15th-ranked Marquette Golden Eagles routed
Chicago State, 106-87, at the Bradley Center.
Lazar Hayward added 21 points and
AL MVP award up for grabs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baseball Writers' Association of America will hand out
their final postseason award on Monday, as the American League's Most Valuable
Player will be announced.
But unlike most of the awards that have already been ha
Hawks attempt to snap skid in Indy against Pacers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Hawks have hit a snag since opening the season
with six straight wins and will hit the road tonight for a showdown with the
Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The Hawks have dropped three in a row to fall to
Bobcats shoot for first win in franchise history vs. Mavs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Dallas Mavericks will shoot for back-to-back wins for
the first time this season when they resume a three-game road trip tonight
against the Charlotte Bobcats at Time Warner Cable Arena.
Dallas ended a five-game losing
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.
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 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.
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