Clippers rally to down Portland

Basketball Betting Lines

02/17/2012 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blake Griffin scored 21 points and pulled down 14 rebounds, as the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted Portland, 74-71.

Mo Williams added 17 points and six boards off the bench, while Chris Paul chipped in with 13 points and six rebounds for the Clippers, who have won four of five.

Nicolas Batum and Jamal Crawford led Portland with 19 points apiece, while Wesley Matthews posted 16 points. Raymond Felton didn't score in just over 24 minutes, finishing 0-for-7 from the floor for Portland, which has lost three of four and squandered an 18-point lead in the third quarter.

Portland raced out to an early lead, scoring eight of the final 10 points to take a 27-20 advantage into the second quarter. Crawford's trey with 5.9 ticks to go capped the scoring in the first stanza.

The Trail Blazers then rattled off the first eight points in the second quarter, claiming a 35-22 advantage on Thomas' mid-range jumper. The lead got as high as 15 points and stood at 43-32 after 24 minutes of game action.

Just like the second period, Portland jumped out strong to increase its lead in the third quarter. Matthews' three and Gerald Wallace's layup completed a quick 7-0 burst for a 50-32 edge. The Clippers responded with the next eight, but couldn't get closer than the 60-52 margin they faced entering the fourth quarter.

It didn't take long for the Clippers to make things interesting, drawing within 66-64 on Paul's layup with just over five minutes to go and taking the lead just over a minute later on Williams' trey. Paul followed with a three- pointer to cap an 8-0 burst, and the margin grew to 72-67 with 1:05 to play on a Paul pull-up jumper.

Matthews kept Portland in the game with a tough trey, but Williams calmly sank two free throws for a 74-70 game with 18.7 seconds remaining and the Clippers hung on from there.

Game Notes

The Clippers made just 38.5 percent of their shots, but Portland wasn't any better, making 38 percent of its shots and scoring just 28 points in the second half...The Clippers had lost six of their last seven contests with Portland before Thursday's win.

Casinoonlinewagering Basketball Betting News

<< Stanford routs Oregon State
Corvallis, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored a game-best 27 points, as third-ranked Stanford buried Oregon State, 78-45. Chiney Ogwumike added 10 points and Joslyn Tinkle donated seven points and 14 rebounds for Stanford

<< Stars nip Flames in OT
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Ribeiro's goal in overtime sent the Stars to a 3-2 win over the Flames on Thursday. Adam Burish and Steve Ott scored in regulation while Ribeiro added an assist, helping the Stars halt a three-game skid.

<< Duke rallies past NC State
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Duke is becoming quite good at this comeback thing. Seth Curry scored 26 points and Austin Rivers added 16, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 2:26 to play, as No.5 Duke rallied from a double-dig

<< Boozer and Bulls rally over Boston
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Boozer scored 23 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out five assists, and the Chicago Bulls utilized a late 12-0 run to take down the Boston Celtics, 89-80, at United Center. Luol Deng and

<< Kane leads Jets past Wild in shootout
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evander Kane scored twice in regulation and the winner in the shootout to lift the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild. In the fourth round, Dany Heatley was stopped by Chris Mason and

Sacre, Gonzaga roll past Santa Clara >>
Santa Clara, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert Sacre posted 20 points to lift No. 24 Gonzaga to a 73-62 win over Santa Clara. Sam Dower had 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench while Kevin Pangos added 10 points for the Bulldogs (21-4,

Smith, Coyotes blank Kings >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Smith posted 28 saves for his fourth shutout of the season as the Phoenix Coyotes edged the Los Angeles Kings, 1-0, at Staples Center. Radim Vrbata scored the only goal of the game for the Coyote

Stepanek ousted, Anderson advances in San Jose >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Former champion Radek Stepanek was a second-round upset victim Thursday at the $531,000 SAP Open. Belgian Steve Darcis bounced the fourth-seeded Czech 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2) on the hardcourts at H

Webb leads by two as weather halts play in Thailand >>
Chonburi, Thailand (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Karrie Webb was six-under par through 14 holes Friday when play at the Honda LPGA Thailand was suspended for the day due to inclement weather. Webb had climbed to 10-under for the week, but will have to

Whiteford two clear in India >>
New Delhi, India (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Peter Whiteford carded a four-under 68 Friday to grab a two-stroke lead after two rounds of the Avantha Masters. Whiteford, a first-round co-leader, completed 36 holes at 10-under-par 134. He is searching

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.

To bet on March Madness games this online sportsbook accepts credit cards