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06/13/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Pierce netted 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field, helping Boston to a 45-39 halftime lead on the Los Angeles Lakers in the pivotal Game 5 of the NBA Finals.
The Celtics, coming off a series-tying 96-89 win on Thursday, are continuing their attempt for a second title in three years, having beaten the Lakers in six games in 2008.
The Lakers have won 14 straight playoff games when the series is tied, but will need to rally in the second half to continue that trend before the series heads back to Los Angeles for Game 6 Tuesday night.
The team that wins Game 5 in a best-of-seven series tied 2-2 is 130-26 in those series all-time.
Rajon Rondo played a big part in Boston's success in the first half with 10 points, but the Celtics have 11 turnovers at the break. They are shooting a sizzling 65.6 percent from the field.
Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 10 points, but LA is struggling at a 33.3 percent shooting clip.
Boston scored the game's first six points, but the Lakers netted the ensuing eight, capped by Andrew Bynum's bucket. He's playing despite having his right knee drained Friday.
The game remained tight through the end of the period with Pierce's jumper in the closing minute providing a 22-20 edge for Boston through 12 minutes.
Tony Allen's basket, just over three minutes into the second, provided a 30-22 cushion, but a pair of three-pointers by Ron Artest highlighted an 11-4 run later by the Lakers as they took a 37-36 edge.
The game turned ugly during that spurt. With 4:42 left in the first half, Kevin Garnett went up for a shot in the lane, but tumbled to the floor after being fouled by Artest. Rondo darted into the lane, shoved Artest and was whistled for a technical foul.
Bryant made the technical foul shot, but Garnett countered by sinking his two at the line. A three-ball by Artest and an inside basket from Bryant gave LA the one-point edge.
It didn't last long, as Pierce drained a three-pointer and a tip-in credited to Kendrick Perkins moved the Celtics to a 41-37 lead inside three minutes to go.
Pierce's jumper in the final minute represented the final points of the half.
<< Monday finish looms for State Farm Classic
Springfield, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - More weather problems on Sunday forced the
State Farm Classic into a Monday finish at Panther Creek Country Club.
The third round had also been delayed by thunderstorms and heavy rain. That
round was f
<< Zenyatta makes history with Vanity win
Inglewood, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two-time champion mare Zenyatta remained
undefeated with a third straight win in Sunday's $250,000 Vanity Handicap at
Hollywood Park. The undefeated mare ran her career record to 17 straight wins.
Owne
<< Mediate gets last spot in U.S. Open field
Pebble Beach, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rocco Mediate, who had an epic playoff
with Tiger Woods two years ago, was given the final spot in the field for the
110th U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.
Mediate had been the first alternate and when no
<< Angels take all three in Freeway Series vs. Dodgers
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hideki Matsui finished 3-for-4 with two RBI
as the Angels held on to top the Dodgers, 6-5, in the finale of a three-game
interleague series from Dodger Stadium.
Bobby Abreu collected three hits, scored t
2010 Near No-Hitters >>
No-hit bids that were broken up in the ninth inning this season:June 13 - Ted Lilly, Chicago Cubs vs. Chicago White Sox; pinch hitter Juan Pierre no-out single up the middle, Cubs 1-0.June 2 - x-Armando Galarraga, Detroit vs. Cleveland; Jason Donald
Lakers-Celtics, Box >>
L.A. LAKERS (86)Artest 2-9 1-4 7, Gasol 5-12 2-3 12, Bynum 3-6 0-1 6, Fisher 2-9 5-5 9, Bryant 13-27 8-9 38, Odom 4-6 0-2 8, Farmar 0-4 1-2 1, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Vujacic 2-5 0-0 5, Walton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-78 17-26 86.BOSTON (92)Pierce 12-21 1-2
Gasol little more than a spectator to Kobe show >>
BOSTON (AP) -Pau Gasol finally got the ball with a chance to shoot, and Kevin Garnett sent it back at him.A few minutes later, the same thing happened.Gasol was little more than a spectator of the Kobe Bryant show in Game 5 of the NBA finals on Sund
Garnett's all-around game boosts Celtics >>
BOSTON (AP) -Kevin Garnett scored, rebounded and blocked shots.Steal the ball? He did that, too. Five times.Garnett's best all-around performance of the NBA finals lacked one memorable gesture. Boston's emotional leader didn't kiss the leprechaun sy
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting