11/17/2008 - Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carlos Boozer and C.J. Miles scored 21 points apiece to lead the injury-ravaged Utah Jazz to an impressive 109-97 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
Utah, playing without star guard Deron Williams (ankle) and center Mehmet Okur (personal), won with a mix-and-match group that hammered Phoenix on the backboards, 47-26. Andrei Kirilenko, who had missed time with a finger injury, scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds off the bench.
Brevin Knight scored 12 points and dished out six assists, while Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver netted 11 points apiece.
The Jazz bench outscored the Suns reserves, 59-16, in the victory. Utah won five straight games to start the season, but went just 1-4 on a road trip before coming home for two games.
Amare Stoudemire led all scorers with 30 points to go along with eight rebounds, while Matt Barnes added 19 points. Steve Nash donated 14 points with eight assists for the Suns, who saw their two-game winning streak come to an end.
The first half was a tale of two quarters as Phoenix grabbed a 32-23 lead after 12 minutes only to see the lead dissolve and turn into a 57-54 halftime deficit.
Phoenix took a brief lead in the third stanza, 60-59, on Barnes' layup with 10:14 to play. Utah regained its footing and increased its edge to 75-70 on Boozer's layup with 3:36 to go.
The Suns again snuck closer at 83-81 on Boris Diaw's jumper. Kirilenko responded with a clutch three-pointer, and a 13-0 run moments later put the game away.
Millsap and Knight poured home jumpers then Kirilenko grabbed a rebound, dribbled up the court and sank a mid-range shot. After three more jumpers -- one each by Knight, Boozer and Kirilenko -- Millsap converted a free throw with 4:51 on the clock for a 103-86 edge.
Game Notes
Phoenix shot 48.6 percent from the floor, while Utah made 47.1 percent of its shots...Utah assisted on 28 of 40 made field goals with six each from Knight and Ronnie Price...Attendance 19,911.
<< Rockets send Thunder to eighth straight loss
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luis Scola led the way for Houston with
23 points and nine rebounds as the Rockets defeated the Thunder, 100-89, at
the Ford Center.
Yao Ming added 19 points and 12 boards for the Rockets, who
<< Conklin, Red Wings blank Oilers
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ty Conklin stopped all 21 shots he faced for
his first shutout of the season, and the Detroit Red Wings blanked the
Edmonton Oilers, 4-0, at Joe Louis Arena.
"It's nice to get that first (shutout) o
<< Thomas strong between the pipes as Bruins clip Maple Leafs
Toronto, ON (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Thomas made 28 saves and withstood a late
Toronto surge as the Boston Bruins edged the Maple Leafs, 3-2, at Air Canada
Centre.
Phil Kessel, Michael Ryder and Matt Hunwick had the goals for the Bruins,
<< Austrie, second-ranked Huskies roll past Hartford
Hartford, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Craig Austrie scored 21 points, and the
second-ranked Connecticut Huskies routed the Hartford Hawks, 99-56, in early-
season action at XL Center.
Kemba Walker had 21 points, while Jerome Dyson added
Dawson wins battle of kickers; Browns edge Bills >>
Orchard Park, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Phil Dawson's 56-yard field goal gave the
Browns the lead with 1:39 to play, and Rian Lindell pushed his 45-yard attempt
wide right in the final minute as the Cleveland Browns held on for a 29-27 win
over th
Griffin leads Sooners over Miss. Valley State >>
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Blake Griffin finished with 20 points, 19
rebounds and six steals, and 12th-ranked Oklahoma cruised past Mississippi
Valley State, 94-53, in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off.
The Sooners (2-
Mason's three puts Spurs past flailing Clips >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Roger Mason scored 21 points, including the
go-ahead three-pointer with 8.4 seconds left in the game, to lead the
streaking San Antonio Spurs in an 86-83 victory over the struggling Los
Angeles
Memphis crushes UMass to give Calipari coaching record >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Antonio Anderson scored 15 points and grabbed
12 rebounds, and 13th-ranked Memphis ripped Massachusetts, 80-58, to make John
Calipari the winningest coach in program history.
The win was Calipari's 221st a
The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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