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02/02/2012 - Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - It wasn't easy, but the Clippers picked up their first win in Salt Lake City since 2003.
Los Angeles had lost 15 straight against the Jazz in Utah, but got a season- high 34 points and 11 assists from Chris Paul to earn a 107-105 victory in a game which featured 12 ties and 14 lead changes
Blake Griffin added 31 points and 14 rebounds and executed a key three-point play in the final minute for the Clippers, who have won four straight overall.
Al Jefferson, a game-time decision due to an ankle injury, had a team-high 27 points and 12 boards for the Jazz, who saw their two-game win streak come to an end. C.J. Miles scored 16 and Paul Millsap finished with 14.
The Clippers were up 92-87 on Paul's up-and-under layup with under five minutes to play, but Jefferson followed with a bucket and hit 1-of-2 free throws shortly thereafter to make it a two-point game.
The margin was still two, 96-94, when Paul was off on a fadeaway jumper, but Mo Williams snared the offensive rebound and collided with Miles in mid-air, drawing a foul in the process. He made both foul shots with 30 seconds on the clock.
Jefferson quickly responded with a jump hook on the baseline but the Clippers broke Utah's press with ease and Griffin took the ball from half court to the basket, making a layup and drawing a foul on Jefferson. The ensuing free throw made it 101-96.
Utah wouldn't go easily, however. Millsap and Miles hit three-pointers on the team's next two possessions, but veteran Chauncey Billups answered both times with a pair of free throws.
Billups' second trip to the line had the Clippers up 105-102 with seven seconds left and Paul fouled Devin Harris to prevent another Utah three- pointer.
Harris made a pair, then Williams made a pair. Miles was fouled by Billups with a second to play. He hit the first free throw and intentionally missed the second, but LA reserve Reggie Evans was there to grab the rebound and seal the win.
Earlier, Griffin and Paul combined for 26 of their team's 32 first quarter points and LA took a three-point lead into the second. There the Jazz responded, opening with a 15-2 run to take a 10-point lead, the largest advantage of the game for either team.
The Clippers responded, though, tying the game late in the quarter on Paul's floater before Jefferson made it 58-56 at the half with a short jumper. Neither team led by more than four in the third and the Jazz were up 74-72 entering the fourth.
Game Notes
The Clippers' last win in Salt Lake City came on January 22, 2003...LA's four- game win streak marks a season-high...Williams had 19 points...The Clippers held a 50-35 rebounding advantage.
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Stephane Robidas, Eric Nystrom, Vernon Fiddler and Sheldon Souray ea
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San Diego, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jamaal Franklin scored 16 points and pulled
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The game came down to the final shot after Chase Tapley hit 1-
<< No. 11 UNLV fends off Colorado State
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scored 16 points, and No. 11 UNLV fended off the upset-minded Colorado State
Rams, 82-63, to remain undefeated at home this season.
Mike Moser finished with 13
<< Jackson lifts No. 6 Baylor over Texas A&M
College Station, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pierre Jackson's three-pointer with
16.3 seconds left gave Baylor the lead for good, and the sixth-ranked Bears
held on for a 63-60 victory over Texas A&M on Wednesday.
Perry Jones III scored
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one-shot le
Hot Hawks kick off homestand vs. Grizzlies >>
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Grizzlies.
Hidden in all the hype by the likes of Miami, Chicago and Philadelphia in the
Avs host Wild in Northwest Division battle >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A key battle in the Western Conference playoff race is on
tap tonight in Denver, as the sliding Colorado Avalanche host the Minnesota
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Despite posting just four wins in their last 20 games (4-12-4)
Blackhawks try to stop slide in Edmonton >>
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In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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