Bryant, Gasol help Lakers down Kings for 50th win of season

Basketball Betting Lines

03/17/2010 - Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant posted a near triple-double and Pau Gasol ended with 28 points on 12-of-14 shooting, as the duo led the Lakers past the Kings, 106-99, at ARCO Arena.

The win was LA's fourth straight and 50th of the season, the third consecutive year the reigning champions have accomplished that feat.

Bryant went for 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, while Gasol added 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, which had 23 second-chance points to Sacramento's nine. Andrew Bynum ended with 21 points and 12 boards for the victors.

Tyreke Evans had another balanced game with 25 points, 11 rebounds and nine helpers for the Kings, who had won two of three coming into the game. Carl Landry deposited 15 points to go with 10 rebounds, while Jason Thompson chipped in 14 and 10 in defeat.

Ahead 61-57 midway through the third, Bryant and Lamar Odom each hit from behind the arc to extend the margin to 10.

Odom's buzzer-beater made it 77-68 in favor of LA heading to the fourth, where the Lakers scored the first seven points to pull away.

Shannon Brown's dunk capped the run for an 84-68 cushion, and the closest the Kings got until the final minute was eight.

Bryant scored 11 of the final 13 points of the first quarter to put the Lakers in front 28-17.

Sacramento quickly answered in the second and went ahead, 37-34, following a pair of buckets from Evans near the midway point.

In the final minute of the half, Bryant threw an alley-oop to Bynum and hit a free throw for a slim 49-48 lead at halftime.

Game Notes

LA has won five straight over Sacramento...Odom checked in with 10 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 48.3 percent from the field...Spencer Hawes contributed 13 points and Omri Casspi had 10 for the Kings, who made 42.9 percent of their shots.

Wwwfreescoreboard Basketball Betting News

<< Suns go off for 152, blow out Timberwolves
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Richardson led eight Phoenix players in double figures with 27 points as the Suns lit up the scoreboard with a 152-114 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves at US Airways Center. Amare Stoudemire netted 2

<< Anthony, Nuggets hand Wizards ninth straight defeat
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Carmelo Anthony scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, as the Denver Nuggets battled back to upend the Washington Wizards, 97-87, at the Pepsi Center. J.R. Smith added 17 points off the bench and Nene

<< Stars crush Sharks in Dallas
Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Ribeiro and Brenden Morrow each scored a pair of goals, as the Dallas Stars demolished the Western Conference-leading San Jose Sharks, 8-2, at American Airlines Center. Brad Richards had a goal and tw

<< Wozniacki, Dementieva, Jankovic reach Indian Wells QFs
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Second seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, fourth-seeded Russian star Elena Dementieva and No. 6 seed Jelena Jankovic of Serbia were each victorious in fourth-round play Tuesday at the $4.5 million BNP Par

<< Arkansas-Pine Bluff routs Winthrop in NCAA opener
Dayton, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Allen Smith scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed six rebounds, leading Arkansas-Pine Bluff to a convincing 61-44 win over Winthrop in the opening-round contest of the 2010 NCAA Tournament. The win ea

Tavares scores twice as Islanders handle Canucks >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie John Tavares posted two goals and three assists to lead the New York Islanders to a 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks at GM Place. Matt Moulson added a goal and an assist for the Islanders, wh

Murray, Roddick advance; Federer bows out at Indian Wells >>
Indian Wells, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Roger Federer was upset by 27th-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in third-round action, while fourth-seeded Andy Murray and seventh-seeded Andy Roddick moved into the fourth round Tuesday at the $4.

Bell signs offer sheet with Eagles >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Eagles signed restricted free agent running back Mike Bell to an offer sheet on Thursday. The New Orleans Saints now have seven days to match the deal, which the Philadelphia Inqui

Ark-Pine Bluff beats Winthrop in NCAA opener >>
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -When it mattered most, Arkansas-Pine Bluff turned into kings of the road.Losers of their first 11 games - all on the road - the Golden Lions turned their first trip to the NCAA tournament into one worth the extra packing. Allen Sm

Hughes, Bohannon may give Badgers tournament edge >>
MILWAUKEE (AP) -It's perhaps the most oft-repeated nugget of conventional NCAA tournament wisdom and it bodes particularly well for Wisconsin this year: Experienced guard play can be a decisive edge.The Badgers start one of the tournament's most exp

Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.