Roy's late surge paces Blazers over Timberwolves
Basketball Betting Lines
11/09/2008 - Portland, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Roy scored 24 points, including the go-ahead jumper with 31.9 seconds left, and the Portland Trail Blazers held on for a 97-93 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Roy sank 7-of-15 from the field and doled out nine assists, and LaMarcus Aldridge had 24 points and 13 rebounds for Portland, which won its second straight thriller to get to 3-3 on the season.
Travis Outlaw and Rudy Fernandez each scored 11 points for the Blazers, who survived Minnesota two days after a 101-99 overtime win over the Houston Rockets.
Al Jefferson scored 27 points but missed two point-blank shots in the final 10 seconds. Mike Miller scored 14 points for the Timberwolves, who have dropped five straight after a season-opening win over Sacramento.
Rookie forward Kevin Love had a tough night for Minnesota, scoring only two points on 0-for-7 shooting, including a missed putback shot that would have tied the game late in the fourth quarter.
After a Jefferson layup tied the game at 89-89 with 1:45 left, Steve Blake drained a long two-pointer from the wing for the lead. Blake's left foot barely grazed the line, preventing a three-pointer.
Jefferson answered with a jumper, though, knotting the score at 91-91 with 1:15 to play. Roy answered with two free throws, and Portland led 93-91. A turnaround jumper by Jefferson tied the game at 93-all with 47.7 seconds left, but Roy had one more answer.
The young Blazers guard crossed over Randy Foye and drained a short stepback jumper with 31.9 seconds left for a 95-93 lead.
Jefferson went to the low post again to try to tie it, but missed a leaner, and Love couldn't sink a putback shot. Jefferson came down with the board and had another shot rim out, and this time Aldridge pulled down the rebound.
Outlaw made two free throws with 4.6 seconds left and then stole the inbounds pass, sealing the win.
The T-Wolves led 24-18 after Foye's running jumper closed the first quarter, but Portland took a 49-43 lead into the break. The Blazers trailed 70-69 entering the final 12 minutes.
Game Notes
Portland swept four games from the Timberwolves a year ago and has won six of seven and nine of the last 11 matchups...Minnesota has dropped six in a row at the Rose Garden...Portland outrebounded Minnesota 45-38.
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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