Paul leads Clippers past Nuggets

Basketball Betting Lines

02/23/2012 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Paul had a season-high 36 points to go along with nine assists as the Los Angeles Clippers pulled away in the fourth quarter to down the Denver Nuggets, 103-95, at Staples Center.

Blake Griffin added 27 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the Clippers, who snapped a two-game losing streak as they head into the All-Star break.

"We wanted to get that bad taste out of our mouth from dropping the last two [games]," said Griffin. "We did a good job defensively in the fourth quarter. We wanted to go into the break on the right foot."

Arron Afflalo paced the Nuggets with 20 points, while Jordan Hamilton added a career-high 18 points for Denver, which has dropped 11 of its last 15 games.

Los Angeles held a slight, 80-79, advantage entering the fourth quarter and opened the frame with a 9-4 spurt to take an 89-83 advantage.

Denver answered with eight straight points to take a two-point lead with 6:47 left in the game, but the Nuggets would not make another shot from the floor.

The Clippers took full advantage of the Nuggets' offensive woes, closing the game with a 14-4 swing to run away with the victory.

"They made shots at the right time and we missed shots. They rebounded and we just couldn't put the ball in the basket," Nuggets guard Andre Miller said.

Los Angeles held a pair of five-point leads and Denver lead by as much as three on two separate occasions in a back-and-forth first quarter that had seven lead changes, four ties and ended with the score tied at 27.

Denver opened the second quarter with a 7-2 run to jump out to its largest lead of the contest so far, 34-29.

Los Angeles, though, responded with a 6-2 swing to retake the lead, and neither team took a lead larger than four points for the remainder of the half. Arron Afflalo's trey within the final 30 seconds gave the Nuggets a 54-52 advantage at the break.

The back-and-forth affair continued in the third quarter, which saw seven lead changes and seven ties.

After a short Paul jumper knotted the game at 63, Denver used a 6-2 spurt to take the largest advantage of the frame, 69-64, with 5 1/2 minutes left.

But Griffin and Paul combined to scored the Clippers' next 12 points in a 12-4 run to put LA on top, 76-73. The team's traded buckets for the rest of the third and the Clippers carried an 80-79 lead into the fourth after Kosta Koufos failed to tie the game in the closing seconds when he went 1-for-2 at the foul line.

Game Notes

Denver hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday for its last game before the All-Star break...The Nuggets were playing without leading scorer Danilo Gallinari (left ankle) and their top rebounder Nene (left calf strain)...The game had a total of 23 lead changes and 16 ties...Denver held a 21-11 advantage in second-chance points.

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El Duque expected to throw Tuesday

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- New York Mets pitcher Orlando Hernandez, sidelined at spring training because of arthritis in his neck, is expected to resume throwing on Tuesday.

Hernandez received a cortisone shot Thursday after leaving camp and returning to New York to have his neck examined. The 41-year-old right-hander is penciled in as the team's No. 2 starter behind Tom Glavine.

El Duque's health is a major issue for the Mets, who won the NL East in 2007 and came within one victory of the World Series. Their aging and unsettled rotation is a big question mark this year.

MySportsbook.com has the Mets as -110 favorites to repeat as NL East champions odds. 

Hernandez went 11-11 with a 4.66 ERA last season, including 9-7 with a 4.09 ERA in 20 starts after the Mets acquired him from Arizona in late May. But he missed the playoffs because of a torn calf muscle.

New York already is without Pedro Martinez, out until at least midseason following rotator cuff surgery. Among those competing for starting jobs are prospects Mike Pelfrey, Philip Humber and Jason Vargas, plus veterans Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa and Aaron Sele.

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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com

In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.

Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.

Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.

Memphis vs. Ohio State

Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.

UCLA vs. Kansas

In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.

With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action.  Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”.  By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.

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