Gasol carries short-handed Lakers over Spurs
Basketball Betting Lines
02/09/2010 -
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pau Gasol had a spectacular all-around game
with 21 points, 19 rebounds, a season-high eight assists and five blocked
shots, pacing the Los Angeles Lakers to a 101-89 win over the San Antonio Spurs.
Lakers All-Star guard Kobe Bryant sat out his second straight game due to a
sprained left ankle. LA was also missing Andrew Bynum (bruised right hip), but
Gasol filled the center role nicely.
"I can't move my ankle," Bryant said. "It's frustrating. If the All-Star game
was today I wouldn't play. If I can move and get to the basket I'll play.
We'll make a decision Wednesday."
Lamar Odom chipped in 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Ron Artest scored 18
for the Lakers, who moved to 25-4 at home this season. They've won seven of
their last nine games overall.
"We finished well for a game that seemed to be a struggle," Lakers coach Phil
Jackson said. "It's a good win for us. I like our defense. We're playing
better. Rebounding was terrific. It's always good for a team to rally with two
stars out."
Manu Ginobili had 21 points off the bench, while starter Tony Parker scored 20
for the Spurs, who failed to build on a victory in this same building two
nights ago against the Clippers. Tim Duncan registered 16 points and 15
rebounds.
"A disappointing loss. The Lakers were obviously a little short-handed and
played mentally tougher than we did," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "They
played physically tougher than we did and got a win."
Ginobili's layup moved the Spurs within 74-70, 44 seconds into the final
quarter, but the Lakers ran off the ensuing seven points, capped by Shannon
Brown's three-ball.
A Ginobili three had the visitors within 81-75, but the Spurs failed to close
the gap the rest of the way.
The Spurs led 34-28 after one quarter, but the Lakers surged back for a 50-47
halftime edge. LA held a double-digit lead in the third before going to the
fourth with a 73-68 edge.
Game Notes
San Antonio's Richard Jefferson went 2-of-9 from the field for nine points. It
was the 16th time this season he was held under double digits...San Antonio
has lost four straight at the Lakers...Under Jackson, the Lakers are 17-19
against San Antonio in the regular season. In the postseason, Jackson is 15-7
against the Spurs, advancing to the next round in four of five series
meetings...San Antonio is 9-2 against the Pacific Division this season...The
Spurs are 2-2 on their eight-game rodeo road trip.
<< Ducks win 10th in a row at home, snap LA's victory streak
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Corey Perry had a goal and two assists to lead
the Anaheim Ducks to a 4-2 win over Los Angeles and snap the Kings' franchise-
best nine-game winning streak.
Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne each had a goal and an
<< James, Westbrook take home NBA weekly honors
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James and
Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook were named the Eastern and
Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for the period ending
Februar
<< Lady Vols rally to beat Vandy
Nashville, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kelley Cain scored a career-high 19 points
and No. 5 Tennessee came back from an eight-point deficit to top Vanderbilt,
69-60, to sweep the regular season series.
Glory Johnson, Angie Bjorklund and Aly
<< Lombardi's career night propels Phoenix over road-weary Oilers
Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Matthew Lombardi had a career-high five-point
night with a pair of goals and three assists, as Phoenix blew out Edmonton,
6-1, for its seventh win in eight games.
Ilya Bryzgalov turned aside 33 shots for t
<< Stewart, Yip help Avs upend Blues
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Stewart had a goal and two assists as the
Colorado Avalanche downed the St. Louis Blues, 5-2, at Pepsi Center.
Brandon Yip had two goals while Paul Stastny added a goal and an assist for
the Avalanche
Mavs send Warriors to ninth straight loss; Ellis hurts knee >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Terry made 6-of-9 three-point tries,
finishing with a season-high 36 points, along with nine assists and six
rebounds, as Dallas took control in the fourth quarter in a 127-117 victory
over Go
Berdych, Dent victorious in San Jose >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych and unseeded
American Taylor Dent were first-round winners Monday at the $600,000 SAP Open.
Dent topped fellow countryman Alex Bogomolov Jr, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) on the indoor
hardco
Hoyas head north to battle Friars >>
Providence, RI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fresh off a statement victory, the
Georgetown Hoyas are slated to collide with the Providence Friars this evening
in a Big East Conference affair.
Georgetown had lost two of its previous three games heading
Alabama visits Kentucky in SEC action >>
Lexington, KY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Alabama Crimson Tide invade Rupp Arena
this evening for an SEC clash with the third-ranked Kentucky Wildcats.
Alabama is a respectable 13-10 overall, but that record is overshadowed by a
3-6 mark versus l
Illini and Badgers square off in Big Ten brawl >>
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Illinois Fighting Illini carry a four-game
win streak into tonight's Big Ten Conference battle with the 11th-ranked
Wisconsin Badgers, who are tough to beat in Madison.
Illinois has quietly gotten itself in
NCAA Football Betting : USC's reward: Top spot in Top 25
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
Get free Sports Betting lines RSS feeds from top rated online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
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.
|