Spurs finish Florida trip in Orlando

Basketball Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An intriguing interconference matchup is on tap tonight in central Florida, where the San Antonio Spurs take on the playoff-bound Orlando Magic at Amway Arena.

San Antonio is still trying to solidify a postseason spot in the West and is currently seventh in the conference standings, just a half-game behind Phoenix and a full game in back of Oklahoma City. Utah is only two games ahead in the fourth spot.

The Spurs kept their chances of moving up the charts by recording their fourth straight win with Tuesday's 88-76 victory at Miami in the opener of a short road trip. Manu Ginobili scored 22 points, George Hill added 16 and Tim Duncan checked in with 12 points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio, which is 8-1 in the previous nine contests.

"It's hard to say we're back or we're about to make a run for a championship," Ginobili said. "We've lost so many bad games, so we have to stay humble and keep working."

Richard Jefferson had 15 points and eight rebounds to help the Spurs improve to 16-15 away from the Alamo City.

Orlando had an eight-game winning streak come to an end with a 96-89 loss to the Charlotte Bobcats on Sunday despite 27 points and 16 rebounds from Dwight Howard. Howard has recorded an NBA-best 53 double-doubles this season and posted a league-high 69 double-doubles in 2007-08. He leads the NBA in both rebounding and blocked shots, and is trying to become the first player in NBA history to lead the league in that category more than once.

Vince Carter ended with 23 points and Mickael Pietrus added 20, as the playoff-bound Magic scored just 36 points in the second half and were outrebounded by a 46-34 margin. Orlando, which is second in the East, had a six-game home winning streak broken and fell to 27-7 as the host in the loss to Charlotte.

"Our defense wasn't very good at times, our offense was even worse," Orlando guard J.J. Redick said. "You can't really win when that happens."

The Magic are shooting for their third straight Southeast title and sit three games ahead of Atlanta in the division. They have won the last two meetings with San Antonio, which is 6-3 in the past nine matchups as the guest.

Wwwifriends Basketball Betting News


<< Knicks make a stop in Boston for St. Patrick's Day
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics are closing in on their third straight Atlantic Division title and will face another inferior opponent tonight on St. Patrick's Day against the New York Knicks at TD Garden. Boston rebounded from a loss

<< Thunder kick off road trip in Charlotte
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There's still plenty of wiggle room left for the Oklahoma City Thunder to move up in the Western Conference standings. A lengthy winning streak usually helps, as the Thunder shoot for a sixth straight win tonight against the

<< Redskins sign QB Grossman
Ashburn, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Redskins have signed quarterback Rex Grossman. Grossman has seven years of NFL experience, and spent last season with Houston in a backup role. He played in one game, complet

<< Blackhawks limp into Honda Center to battle Ducks
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chicago has had a hard enough time picking up victories in Anaheim without having injuries to worry about. Nonetheless, the Blackhawks could be without as many as four key skaters tonight when they visit the Honda Center to t

<< Avs attempt to extend win streak over Flames
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Colorado Avalanche will try for their fourth straight win overall as well as their seventh victory in a row over the Calgary Flames tonight when the two teams clash at Pepsi Center. The Avalanche's current winning stre

Basement brawl: Woeful Nets visit lowly Sixers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The bottom two teams of the Atlantic Division will go head- to-head for the final time of the 2009-10 campaign this evening at the Wachovia Center, where the homestanding 76ers aim for a season sweep of the dismal

Reeling Bulls visit powerhouse Mavs >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Bulls have picked a bad time to start playing poorly and their chances of ending an eight-game slide don't look so promising with tonight's road matchup against the Dallas Mavericks. The Bulls have also dropped

Road-weary Pacers try to fix issues in Cleveland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An Indiana Pacers team that's had its share of troubles on the road will face another tough challenge in tonight's visit to Quicken Loans Arena for a bout with the NBA-best Cleveland Cavaliers. The Pacers have lost eigh

Raptors return home to face Hawks >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hoping to hold on to a playoff berth that's beginning to slip away, the Toronto Raptors return to the Air Canada Centre this evening for an important matchup with an Atlanta Hawks team that figures to be without its lea

Rockets to host Grizzlies in key conference clash >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It's a virtual must-win situation for a pair of Western Conference teams in desperation mode tonight as the Houston Rockets host the Memphis Grizzlies at the Toyota Center. Historically the Grizzlies haven't had a lot of s

Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup

September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com.  The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans. 

Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to  name a  few.  Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR.  They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.

The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer.  Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.

Ryder Cup Odds

Europe
Tie
USA
4-5
10-1
6-5


Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
Tiger Woods
Jim Furyk
Phil Mickelson
Chris DiMarco
David Toms
Stewart Cink
Chad Campbell
Scott Verplank
Zach Johnson
Vaughan Taylor
JJ Henry
Brett Wetterich
9-4
4-1
5-1
7-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
50-1


Ryder Cup Top European scorer
Sergio Garcia
Luke Donald
Padraig Harrington
Colin Montgomerie
Darren Clarke
David Howell
Lee Westwood
Paul Casey
Henrik Stenson
Jose Maria Olazabal
Paul McGinley
Robert Karlsson
5-1
5-1
6-1
13-2
8-1
9-1
9-1
11-1
12-1
12-1
20-1
25-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com