Carter leads Magic over Boston
Basketball Betting Lines
02/07/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter led a balanced attack with 20 points and Dwight Howard logged 16 points and 13 rebounds despite battling foul trouble, as Orlando rallied back from an 11-point halftime deficit to beat Boston, 96-89 at TD Garden.
Jameer Nelson added 15 points and Rashard Lewis 14 for the Magic, who previously notched a win in Boston back in November -- then edged the C's in Orlando on January 28 to help take the season series 3-1.
Rajon Rondo put forth a solid effort with 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Celtics, who had a three-game win streak broken.
Paul Pierce returned from a foot injury to post 13 points as did Kevin Garnett, who added nine rebounds. Ray Allen shot 4-of-13 from the floor to end with 14 points.
Trailing 51-40 at the break, the Magic turned the tide in the third quarter, outscoring Boston 36-11. After Rondo sank a three close to five minutes in for a nine-point lead, Carter sparked a 19-0 run for Orlando by hitting a three- ball and converting a conventional three-point play.
Carter added another long distance make during the stretch, which morphed into a 25-2 surge to close the quarter with the Magic up 76-62.
Orlando continued to use the three-point shot to pull away, as Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes each hit from beyond for an 82-65 difference just a minute in.
The Celtics began to scrape back with Glen Davis' three-point play making it a 12-point affair, 86-74, with under eight minutes left. But Pietrus again stroked a three and three straight free throws by Howard made it 92-79 nearing three minutes remaining. Boston made a late push, but couldn't overcome Orlando's hearty lead.
The C's held a slim 24-23 lead after 12 minutes of play, and used a 13-4 run to close the first half for a 51-40 advantage.
Game Notes
The Magic drained 11-of-22 from three-point range...Barnes scored 11 points for Orlando...Boston was 5-of-16 from beyond the arc...Davis was 4-of-13 shooting for nine points with seven boards for Boston.
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Jose Sharks made a trade on Sunday, acquiring defenseman Niclas Wallin and a fifth-round pick in the 2010 draft from the Carolina Hurricanes for a second-round pick in the 2010 draft. Wallin, a
<< Freeney active for Super Bowl
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Indianapolis Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney
is listed as active for the Super Bowl despite a right ankle injury.
Freeney hasn't practiced all week due to a third-degree sprain and torn
ligament in h
<< NFL Inactives (Sunday, February 7, 2010)
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The following is a list of inactive players
for Super Bowl XLIV in Miami.
NEW ORLEANS SAINTS VS. INDIANAPOLIS COLTS, 6:25 P.M. (ET)
Saints - 3rd QB Chase Daniel, TE Darnell Dinkins, RB Lynell Hamilton, T
<< Udinese tops Napoli with Di Natale's late heroics
Udine, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Antonio di Natale scored two goals in stoppage
time to complete a hat trick as Udinese beat Napoli, 3-1, on Sunday at the
Stadio Friuli.
Di Natale put Udinese in front after seven minutes when he followed
<< St Etienne eases relegation worries
Saint Etienne, France (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - St Etienne moved seven points clear
of the bottom three on Sunday with a comfortable 3-0 win over Monaco at the
Geoffroy Guichard Stadium.
Blaise Matuidi had the home side in front after 14 m
Montreal, QC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tuukka Rask posted 36 saves for his third shutout of the season and Boston broke a 10-game losing streak, one game short of the franchise record, with a 3-0 win over Montreal at the Bell Centre. Boston,
Florida State vacates wins >>
Tallahassee, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida State's athletic department
officially announced the vacating of wins relating to last year's academic
fraud violations, including 12 for football under former head coach Bobby
Bowden'
Jernigan helps Xavier down Richmond >>
Cincinnati, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dee Dee Jernigan had 15 points to help
seventh-ranked Xavier down Richmond, 67-55, at the Cintas Center.
Amber Harris had 14 points, Special Hennings added 12 points while Tyeasha
Moss had 11 points and six
Chiefs G Waters named Walter Payton Man of the Year >>
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kansas City Chiefs guard Brian Waters was
named the 2009 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year in a ceremony prior to Super
Bowl XLIV.
Waters, a four-time Pro Bowl selection, is the fifth Chiefs player to w
Stricker hangs on to win at Riviera >>
Pacific Palisades, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After entering the final round with a
six-stroke lead, Steve Stricker managed a one-under 70 Sunday to win the
Northern Trust Open by two strokes.
Stricker, who had led by seven late in the t
Big 12 Conference betting odds
Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State
Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.
Work left to do:
Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.
Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.
Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.