Bryant powers Lakers past Spurs

Basketball Betting Lines

01/18/2007 - San Antonio, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 34 points, dished out eight assists and pulled down six rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Lakers over the San Antonio Spurs, 100-96, at the At&T Center.

Bryant finished 12-of-19 from the field and 10-of-11 from the line while Vladimir Radmanovic donated 13 points off the bench for the Lakers, who have won three straight and seven of nine.

Maurice Evans also netted 11 points with five boards for Los Angeles, which shot 47 percent.

Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 26 points and nine rebounds while Tony Parker chipped in with 25 points and five helpers. Brent Barry also poured in 13 points for San Antonio, which has lost two in a row.

A close fourth quarter highlighted this see-saw battle of a game.

Brian Cook's dunk finished a 10-2 scamper to put Los Angeles up 83-73 midway through the fourth. The Spurs, though, continued to fight and took a 91-90 lead following six straight points from Emanuel Ginobili.

Luke Walton then hit a layup to put the Lakers back on top by one, and after Duncan tied it at 92 with a free throw, Bryant drilled a jumper and Evans converted twice from the charity stripe for a 96-92 edge with 1:14 to play.

The battle continued as Duncan landed another free throw to cut San Antonio's deficit to three, however, Ronny Turiaf's short jumper made it 98-93 with 9.9 seconds remaining.

Barry answered with a trey to make it a two-point game until Bryant made two free throws with 4.9 seconds left for the final margin.

Radmanovic's jumper put Los Angeles up by seven early in the first, but San Antonio responded with a 20-7 burst -- capped by Ginobili's three -- for a 25-19 edge after one.

In the second, the Lakers took a 32-29 lead on Jordan Farmar's trey before the Spurs went on a 9-2 run, led by seven points from Barry, to regain the edge at 38-34 with 5:44 left. Los Angeles proceeded to tie the game twice, however, it was San Antonio which went into halftime with a 53-49 advantage.

The contest remained close in the third with each team trading the lead but it was a three from Radmanovic that put the Lakers on top, 73-71, entering the final frame.

Game Notes

Walton and Cook each finished with eight points...Los Angeles has won three of the last four meetings between the teams...The Lakers shot 39 percent from three-point range while San Antonio was 27 percent from beyond the arc.

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Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament odds  
As of February 9, MySportsbook.com has released its coveted 2007 Mens NCAA Basketball Tournament betting odds. “March Madness betting ” only a month away, the top ranked Florida Gators are favorite at 7-2 to win it all. The defending champs have not disappointed at all this season and currently have a 22-2 record and are undefeated (9-0) in SEC play. The Gators’ thrive off of their extremely balanced, experienced and versatile attack. All five starters started in last seasons National Championship game. What is most impressive with this group is their balance; the five starters all average between 10.7 and 13.6 PPG. The Gators have been on an absolute roll having won 15 straight by an average of 16.4 PPG.

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Other teams that the MySportsbook.com members seem to believe will win it all include the west coasts’ top team #2 UCLA (6-1), #3 OSU behind man-child Greg Oden (8-1), and #4 Wisconsin (10-1) behind their defense which has given up 70+ points only three times all season.

Below is a list of some of the favorites to win the 2007 Men’s NCAA Basketball Championship lines. For the full list of teams and March Madness odds be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com. If you want to use your credit card to bet on college hoops or any other event, MySportsbook.com has the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry.

Arizona 20-1

Butler 20-1

Duke 30-1

Florida 7-2

Georgetown 30-1

Indiana 35-1

Kansas 15-1

Marquette 25-1

Maryland 40-1

Memphis 50-1

Nevada 50-1

UNC 9-2

OSU 8-1

Oregon 30-1

Pittsburgh 15-1

Texas 30-1

Texas A&M 18-1

UCLA 6-1

Wisconsin 10-1

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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined

Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.

"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."

Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)

According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.

As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).

Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.

Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at

17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.

*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007

New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers

By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.

"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."

While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."

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