Mason's three puts Spurs past flailing Clips

Basketball Betting Lines

11/18/2008 - 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 Clippers.

Tim Duncan added 20 points, 15 rebounds and four assists for the Spurs, who have won a season-high three games in a row. Michael Finley had 19 points in the win.

Cuttino Mobley had 18 points for the Clippers, who have dropped three straight and nine of their 10 games this season. Chris Kaman chipped in 17 points and 13 boards in defeat. Baron Davis ended with 11 points and eight helpers.

A 9-2 Spurs run to open the fourth gave the visitors a 77-66 lead with just over 9 1/2 minutes remaining in the game. Duncan had four and Finley recorded five points on the run, while Eric Gordon's layup provided the only points for LA.

Still down 11 moments later, five points from the Davis's -- the first three from Ricky Davis and the next two from Baron Davis -- pulled the Clippers within six points, 81-75, with 5:50 showing on the scoreboard.

Mason dropped a jumper, but the Clippers poured in eight straight points to knot the contest up. Baron Davis hit a free throw to spark the surge, Kaman added two layups and Mobley drained a three to cap the 13-2 run with 1:04 showing on the clock.

Then, following a Mobley missed three, Duncan grabbed the rebound and the Spurs called a timeout.

On the inbounds, Mason took the ball and nailed a three from the top-right corner of the arc for an 86-83 San Antonio lead with 8.4 ticks left to play.

"Coach (Gregg Popovich) drew the play for me, I got it and wanted to make the best of it," said Mason. "Coach told me to take my time and when Ricky (Davis) backed off I drilled it."

For the final play of the game, Baron Davis took the inbounds pass, dribbled around just inside the half court line, passed to Ricky Davis, who kicked it right back to Baron Davis on the right wing.

"We're not getting good looks. I thought San Antonio spaced the floor well and got good looks," said Baron Davis. "We can do better offensively, we have to find a way to get better looks."

His desperation, off-balance three-pointer caromed off the glass as time expired to give the Spurs their ninth straight victory over the Clippers.

The Clippers jumped out to a 23-21 leaed after the first quarter. However, the Spurs took the lead, 43-38, at the break.

Mobley's layup brought the Clippers within four points, but Finley nailed a three-pointer and Duncan netted a jumper to give San Antonio a 58-49 lead with 4:50 left in the third.

The Spurs led by as many as 10 points in the third, but an 8-2 LA run to close out the stanza pulled the home team within 68-64 heading into the fourth. Mike Taylor accounted for six of the points, including a last-second shot.

Game Notes

LA shot 3-of-16 from three-point range, while the Spurs were 8-of-20 from behind the arc...The Spurs improved to 3-2 away from home this season and reached the .500 mark for the first time this season (5-5)...San Antonio has won 17 of 18, 19 of 21 and 22 of the past 25 matchups against the Clippers. It has also won five in a row as the guest in this series.

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Online Sportsbook Football Betting

Colts give the ‘D’ its due

The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.

They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.

"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."

Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.

New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.

Not so sound on the ground

If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.

Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com

“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.

Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.

Brees says bring it on

Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.

Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.

Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.

"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."

SportsBooks ready for a shootout

Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.

“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”

New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.

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To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts US credit cards









Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.