Streak hits 13 as Mavs thrash T'Wolves

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02/28/2007 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 23 points, grabbed 14 rebounds, and led the Dallas Mavericks to their 13th straight win, a 91-65 rout of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Mavs are now one win shy of their franchise-record victory surge, set at the start of the 2002-03 season.

Jason Terry scored 18 points and doled out seven assists, and Josh Howard came back from a sprained ankle suffered Monday night to score 17 points and rake in seven rebounds for the Mavs. DeSagana Diop pulled down 10 rebounds for Dallas, which has its second 13-game winning streak of the season. Dallas, which also had a 12-game winning streak earlier in the season, is the first team in NBA history to record three winning streaks of 12 or more games in one season.

They can tie the franchise record winning streak Thursday at home against LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Kevin Garnett scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who shot a horrid 29.6 percent from the field. Ricky Davis also notched 15 points for Minnesota, which has lost four of five. Mark Blount added 10 points for the Wolves.

The Wolves appeared to be shaking out of their shooting doldrums early in the second half, opening the third quarter with a 13-7 stretch, and pulling to within single-digits. A Davis three capped the stretch, cutting the Mavs lead to 49-40.

That was as close as Minnesota would get, though, as Dallas quickly heated back up, and a Nowitzki three in the final minute of the third quarter posted the Mavs to a 68-53 lead entering the final 12 minutes.

"The second half, we ran a couple of plays for me and I was able to make some shots," said Nowitzki.

Minnesota went out with a whimper in the fourth, scoring only 12 points as the Mavs coasted to their largest road win of the season.

"They're a pretty good team," said Garnett of the Mavs, adding, "We didn't shoot the ball particularly well, we didn't give ourselves a chance."

A Terry three posted the Mavs to a 24-14 lead with 1:41 left in the first quarter, but a Davis three in the final minute pulled the Wolves to within 26-19 entering the second.

Minnesota scored only eight points in the second quarter, making only three field goals, squandering a rare bad offensive quarter by the Mavs, who only scored 16 points in the stanza. Minnesota missed its last 12 shots from the field in the quarter, though, and trailed 42-27 at the break.

The Wolves shot a paltry 22.7 percent in the first half.

Game Notes

The Mavs set two defensive records, as Minnesota's 65 points and 29.6 percent shooting performance were both all-time lows for Dallas opponents...The Mavs improved to 40-3 when holding the opposition under 100 points...Dallas outrebounded the Wolves, 54-39...The Mavs are 11-0 on the second night of back-to-back games.

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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.