Bryant leads West to easy All-Star game win
Basketball Betting Lines
02/19/2007 -
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant scored 31 points, dished out six
assists and had six steals to lead the West to an easy 153-132 win over the
East in the 56th annual All-Star Game at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Bryant was named the MVP of the contest for leading a West team that
registered an All-Star game record 52 assists and fell just two points short
of its own All-Star game record for points -- 155 set in 2003.
Amare Stoudemire added 29 points and nine rebounds for the West, who snapped
a two-game skid in the event. Carmelo Anthony chipped in with 20 points and
nine boards, while Shawn Marion finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.
"We wanted to come out and play pretty well," said Bryant. "We lost the last
two games and wanted to get back in the win column. We had a blast. If you had
a shot you took it, otherwise you penetrated and dished it."
LeBron James -- who was the MVP in last year's game -- netted 28 points, six
rebounds and six assists for the East. Dwight Howard was a force inside in
his All-Star debut with 20 points and a game-high 12 boards, while Joe Johnson
had 12 points.
The opening quarter featured some sloppy play early but the West heated up
quickly. Anthony's fade away jumper from the right corner gave them a 10-point
advantage, 35-25, with just over a minute to go in the stanza.
Less than 30 seconds later, Vince Carter provided a spark for the East and
electrified the crowd with a slam off a beautiful spin move but the West still
managed to keep a 39-31 advantage after the opening 12 minutes.
Carter continued to provide a show for the fans early in the second quarter,
taking a Chauncey Billups feed off the glass and depositing another slam.
But, it was the West establishing control in the frame. Dirk Nowitzki's three,
with 9:44 remaining before the half, made it a 51-35 game.
The West continued to dominate the next few minutes. A 7-0 run, featuring
back-to-back layups by Nowitzki and Marion and a McGrady triple, gave the West
its first 20-point cushion, 59-39, with a little over seven minutes to go in
the second
The teams then traded baskets for the rest of the half and the West took a
79-59 edge into the locker room. Bryant led the West with 17 points on 8-of-14
shooting, while James paced the East with 16 points and shot 6-of-10 from the
floor.
The West continued to run away early in the third quarter. Ray Allen's three,
with 4:08 left in the frame, gave the West a commanding 108-76 advantage.
Nowitzki then capped the scoring in the frame with a jumper to make it 119-88
heading into the final frame.
The East failed to make any kind of serious run in the fourth quarter. A
Dwyane Wade jumper cut the deficit to 25, 129-104, with 7:53 left in the game
but Bryant stemmed any momentum by draining a three 17 seconds later.
The Lakers' star then got loose for a reverse dunk on the baseline and Marion
followed that with another reverse jam to extend the West's advantage to
136-106 with 6:51 on the clock.
The West coasted to the finish line from there. Bryant capped his MVP
performance with a spinning slam with 30 seconds left.
Game Notes
This was the first All-Star game held outside an NBA franchise city...Bryant
captured his second All-Star MVP award. His first was in his hometown of
Philadelphia during the 2002 game...Wade's follow shot in the lane with
16.6 seconds remaining rallied the East past the West, 122-120, at Houston's
Toyota Center in last year's game...The East still holds a commanding 35-21
advantage in the all-time series...New Jersey guard Jason Kidd was originally
named as a reserve to the East squad, however but was sidelined with a back
injury and did not play in the contest. Meanwhile, the Western Conference was
without ailing center Yao Ming and guards Steve Nash of the Suns and Denver's
Allen Iverson...Las Vegas legend Wayne Newton entertained the crowd before the
game while the city's nine time entertainer of the year Andy Gans sang the
National Anthem...Six-time Grammy winner Toni Braxton and Christina Aguilera
headlined the halftime show.
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Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Lubomir Visnovsky scored in the sixth round of
the shootout, to lift the Los Angeles Kings to a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim
Ducks at the Honda Center.
Visnovsky added a goal and an assist in regulation and
<< Sun Devils stun USC
Tempe, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Pendergraph scored 14 points and grabbed 15
rebounds, and the longest losing streak in Division I basketball came to an
end, as Arizona State recorded its first Pac-10 win of the season, 68-58, over
22nd-ra
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San Jose.
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<< Blues skate past Wild
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Backes' pair of scores lifted the Blues
to a 5-3 win over the Wild at Scottrade Center.
Jamal Mayers, Jay McClement, and Keith Tkachuk also lit the lamp for St.
Louis, which has won three in a
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Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Briann January had a career-high 22 points
with nine assists and six steals, and the 10th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils
downed UCLA 80-69.
Emily Westerberg and Danielle Orsillo added 12 points apiece
Morrison stars as Canucks edge Avs >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brendan Morrison scored two goals and picked
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Avalanche at General Motors Place.
Matt Cooke added a goal and two assists for
Mets ink Sandy Alomar Jr. to minor league deal >>
Port St. Lucie, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New York Mets have signed catcher
Sandy Alomar Jr. to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring
training.
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Powerful Penguins put streak on the line against Isles >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Pittsburgh Penguins look to continue their best run
since the franchise's glory days when the NHL's hottest team visits the New
York Islanders this afternoon in a President's Day matinee from Nassau
Coliseu
Predators try to end recent woes against struggling Coyotes >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Nashville Predators will try to regain possession of
first place in the Central Division as they continue a homestand this evening
with a matchup against the slumping Phoenix Coyotes.
Nashville lost its grasp on
Flyers, Bruins look to continue good play of late >>
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Bruins resume a long road trip with a showdown against the Philadelphia
Flyers.
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MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
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*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
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