Granger Rebounds Pound Crush On Pacers

Basketball Betting Lines

San Antonio continues its Jekyll and Hyde type season, staying perfect at the At&T Center on Wednesday with a 101-95 overtime victory over South Texas rival Houston. Conversely the Spurs are 0-4 on the road.

 

Tony Parker added a season-high 28 points, eight assists and five rebounds for San Antonio, which continues to play without star swingman Manu Ginobili (broken hand) and snapped a two-game skid.

 

"I'm happy with that one. It was a tough one," Parker said. "Houston is a very physical team and they played great tonight. Everybody had to play great and it was a great win for us. We needed it."

 

Duncan will have an opportunity to climb another spot tonight, as the former MVP sits just 15 points behind Gary Payton's total of 21,813.

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The struggling New Jersey Nets will resume a four-game road trip in the desert tonight against the Suns. Turning things around in Phoenix will not be easy for New Jersey, however. The Nets have consistently struggled in the Valley of the Sun, dropping 16 of their past 17 visits.

 

Jordan Farmar scored a season-high 26 points off the bench, and Anthony Morrow had 23 points for the Nets, who have lost three straight and fell to 2-9 on the season.

 

Deron Williams went for a double-double with 16 points and 13 assists and Kris Humphries donated 12 points and nine rebounds for New Jersey, which continues to play without star center Brook Lopez (stress fracture, right foot), the twin brother of Phoenix backup pivot Robin Lopez.

 

The Suns haven't been playing all that well either and dropped the opener of a brief two-game homestand to Cleveland on Thursday. Rookie star Kyrie Irving outdueled Steve Nash in that one, scoring a game-high 26 points.

 

Former All-Star Michael Redd scored 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting, including a 3-of-7 effort from beyond the arc, in his Suns debut. Redd, an 11-year veteran with a history of knee problems, signed with the Suns on Dec. 29. He had spent his entire career in Milwaukee.

 

"For me this is the preseason," Redd said. "This is all fresh for me. I just have to continue working hard to get better."

 

(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indiana Pacers try to string back-to-back wins together this evening when they visit the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. Indiana improved to 4-0 at home on Wednesday, as Danny Granger scored 24 points, leading the Pacers to a 96-84 win over the Atlanta Hawks. The Pacers led by as many as 24 points and halted Atlanta's three-game winning streak.

 

Granger shot 9-of-16 from the floor, but is among the league's worst with a field goal percentage of 33.6.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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