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02/20/2009 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the more talented teams in the Western Conference hook up Friday, when the Los Angeles Lakers host the New Orleans Hornets at Staples Center.
The Lakers won their second game in as many nights Wednesday in Oakland, where Kobe Bryant scored 30 points and dished out nine assists as Los Angeles rallied to beat Golden State, 129-121, and win for the ninth time in 10 games.
Pau Gasol tallied 24 points and 13 rebounds for the Lakers, who moved to an NBA-best 44-10 record. Lamar Odom ended with 22 points and seven boards for Los Angeles, which beat Golden State for a fourth straight time as well.
Trevor Ariza scored 17, Josh Powell 16 and Derek Fisher 12 for the Lakers, who trailed most of the game before taking command late in the final quarter.
Bryant, coming off a lackluster 10-point performance in a home win over the Hawks on Tuesday, shot 9-of-22 from the field and missed two of his 12 foul shots. He also had two scintillating blocks and drew plenty of MVP cheers from the home crowd.
The Hornets, meanwhile, are coming off one of their most impressive performances of the season, a 117-85 rout of the Southeast Division-leading Orlando Magic on Wednesday.
Chris Paul scored 36 points, pulled down six rebounds and had 10 assists to pace New Orleans in the game.
Rasual Butler had 15 points and eight boards for the Hornets, who have won two in a row and four of their last six games. David West had 14 points for New Orleans, which shot 58.2 percent from the field.
Paul went 14-of-22 from the field and also had three steals.
After the game, the Hornets announced center Tyson Chandler is headed back to the team after a recent trade to Oklahoma City was rescinded because the Thunder's medical staff failed to clear him after a physical.
In the deal announced Tuesday, Oklahoma City was going to send forward Joe Smith, center Chris Wilcox and the draft rights to center Devon Hardin to New Orleans.
"The trade was made for us to be a better basketball team and to get some more depth," said Hornets coach Byron Scott. "Stats don't lie, we are dead last on rebounding. That's something that we weren't last year. We have to do a much better job when Tyson gets back on rebounding."
The Lakers, who have the West's best home record at 25-4, have taken two of three games from the Hornets this season. However, New Orleans snapped a three-game skid to LA with a 116-105 win in Hollywood on January 6.
<< Resurgent Suns return home to take on Thunder
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Turns out it didn't take a trade in Phoenix to ignite the
franchise. All it took was a coaching change.
Despite numerous rumors, All-Stars Amare Stoudemire and Shaquille O'Neal
remain with the Suns, and the team hopes to s
<< Nuggets resume road trip against re-tooled Bulls
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Denver Nuggets hope for continued success on their
eight-game road trip when they arrive in the Windy City Friday to face the
new-look Chicago Bulls.
The Nuggets improved to 5-1 on the trek Wednesday in the City of Bro
<< Revamped Knicks to begin home-and-home set with Raptors
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of Atlantic Division rivals square off tonight at
Madison Square Garden, where the re-tooled New York Knicks will host the
Toronto Raptors.
Hoping to make a run at a postseason berth, Knicks president Donnie Walsh m
<< Magic seeking quick turnaround in visit to Charlotte
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Orlando Magic will try to rebound from a beating they
took in New Orleans when they take on the Charlotte Bobcats tonight at Time
Warner Cable Arena.
Orlando opened a quick two-game road trip with a 117-85 setback agai
O's extend 2B Roberts through 2014 >>
Fort Lauderdale, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baltimore Orioles and second
baseman Brian Roberts agreed to a four-year contract extension through the
2014 season on Friday.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 31-y
Suns' Stoudemire undergoes eye surgery, likely out eight weeks >>
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns will likely be without Amare
Stoudemire for eight weeks after the All-Star forward underwent successful eye
surgery on Friday.
Dr. Pravin Dugel performed the procedure to repair a partially d
Juve's Amauri ready for Palermo return >>
Palermo, Italy (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Saturday will be a homecoming for Juventus
striker Amauri as he returns to Palermo after making a summer switch to Turin.
The Brazilian frontman joined Palermo during the 2006-07 season and proceeded
to s
Venus ousts Serena to reach Dubai final >>
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sixth-seeded Venus Williams
upended her reigning world No. 1 sister Serena in three sets in Friday's
semifinal action at the $2 million Dubai Tennis Championships.
The former top-ranked Venu
Many fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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