03/21/2008 - Dallas, TX (Basketball Betting) - Ray Allen scored 21 points, and made a crucial three-pointer in the final minute to help the Boston Celtics top Dallas, 94-90, at American Airlines Center.
Paul Pierce finished with 22 points and a season-high 13 rebounds, while Kevin Garnett had 20 points and 13 boards for the Celtics, who completed a three- game road sweep of Texas teams.
Boston won at San Antonio on Monday, and beat Houston by 20 points on Tuesday, ending the Rockets' 22-game win streak. Overall the Celtics are 6-0 against those teams this season, and have also won four in a row and 14 of 15.
"This was probably one of the better ones of the three (games in Texas)," Pierce said. "Struggle all night. Mavericks played great defense all night...but we made the plays we needed to make down the stretch, got the defensive stops, and that's what it's going to take."
Dirk Nowitzki had 22 points and 19 rebounds, while Josh Howard scored 24 for the Mavericks, who have lost two in a row after a five-game win streak. Jerry Stackhouse had 17 points, and Jason Kidd had nine assists to go with 11 rebounds.
With 2:07 on the clock and the Celtics ahead by one, Pierce took a pair of free throws, but missed them both to keep his team hanging on by a thread. Nowitzki then responded with by getting to the line, and making both of his foul shots to put Dallas on top, 88-87.
The teams then missed their next two shots each, the final one by Kidd. Garnett grabbed the rebound, and Boston called timeout with 33.8 on the clock.
On the ensuing inbound, the teams barely had a chance to get set before Allen created enough space on the left side of the three-point arc, accepted the pass, and took a shot with a man in his face. He buried the three-pointer, pushing the Celtics in front by two.
"Ray made an unbelievable shot on a play we drew up, and we just kept getting stops -- and that was the key," Pierce said.
Dallas had enough time to tie or go ahead, though Nowitzki didn't get a clean look at the basket. Garnett was there as he went up for a left-handed layup, and the shot fell well short with no foul called.
Kidd was forced to foul, and James Posey went to the line with 14.9 left. He made both shots for a 92-88 Celtics advantage, and Boston held on to win, sweeping the season series with the Mavericks for the first time since the 1993-94 season.
"It's disappointing. It's a game of inches and it was an inch that they got," Howard said. "We can't dwell on this game. Just have to be ready for the next one."
Posey finished with 12 points for Boston, while Erick Dampier and Brandon Bass had 10 points apiece for Dallas.
In a close game throughout, Dallas took a 29-24 lead after the first quarter, and took a 48-46 edge into the intermission after Howard and Kidd closed the half with consecutive layups.
Jason Terry drained a three to give the Mavericks a 70-66 lead heading into the fourth quarter, and the game was close down the stretch.
Game Notes
Boston has won eight in a row as the visitor, and is 26-8 on the road this season...Dallas fell to 29-6 at home...Allen missed the past three games with a bruised left heel...Boston only shot 34.5 percent from the field, while Dallas had a 39.3 percent mark...The Celtics committed just eight turnovers, to the Mavs' 14...Dampier had four blocks, while Pierce had three.
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Kyle
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West Virginia advances to second round with win over Arizona >>
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Alex Ruoff and Darris Nichols combined to
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Love leads UCLA to 41-point win over Miss. Valley State >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Love scored 20 points and grabbed nine
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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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