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03/07/2010 - Orlando, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter scored a team-high 25 points, and Dwight Howard added 15 points and 16 rebounds, as the Orlando Magic escaped with a 96-94 win over the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in a rematch of last season's NBA Finals.
Jameer Nelson finished with 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for Orlando, which has won five straight and seven of its last eight overall. Rashard Lewis hit four three-pointers and ended with 12 points and six boards.
Kobe Bryant, who missed a potential game-tying shot at the fourth-quarter buzzer, led all scorers with 34 points to go along with seven rebounds and seven assists for the Lakers, who have dropped three straight -- all on the road -- for the first time since January 23-27, 2008. Pau Gasol donated a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds in defeat.
LA, which earned a 98-92 victory over the Magic on January 18 at Staples Center, defeated Orlando for the NBA title in five games last year. It was the Lakers' 15th title in franchise history.
Trailing, 74-64, after three quarters, Bryant hit a pair of jumpers to ignite an 8-0 run and get LA to within two, 74-72, with 8:35 remaining. Orlando answered with a 7-2 burst to grab a 81-74 after a Howard dunk a short time later. On the play, Gasol was issued a flagrant foul, but Howard missed both free throws.
Then, with the Magic up 94-89 in the final minute, Bryant drained a corner three with 26.4 seconds on the clock. After Nelson was fouled and made 1-of-2 from the stripe, Bryant hit a long jumper from the top of the arc with 12.9 ticks left to cut LA's deficit to one.
The shot was originally ruled a three before the officials briefly reviewed it, and the replay clearly showed Bryant's foot was on the line. Carter was then fouled and made 1-of-2 with 9.7 seconds to go before Bryant's medium-range jumper was off the mark as time expired.
The Magic had a 31-24 lead after the first 12 minutes, then went up by double- figures, 38-28, after Mickael Pietrus hit a three-pointer in the early stages of the second quarter.
Orlando continued to hold the lead throughout the period, but Gasol's dunk got the Lakers to within 52-48 heading into the break. A layup and jumper from Matt Barnes and Jason Williams, respectively, allowed the hosts to build a 71-59 lead with 2:27 left in the third quarter, and the Magic settled for a 10-point lead after three.
Game Notes
Despite the loss, the Lakers have won 17 of the last 23 matchups with the Magic and hold a 31-12 advantage in the all-time series...Howard's double- double was hit 50th of the season, which leads the NBA...Orlando will also face the Clippers and Chicago Bulls on its three-game homestand...The Magic shot 41.1 percent from the field, while LA shot only 37.5 percent...Barnes finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
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In any football or basketball game (the main sports that use point spreads) there are two teams playing against each other.
Those teams, though, are rarely exactly evenly matched – meaning that typically one team has a better chance than the other to win the game. If bettors were allowed to bet on who was simply going to win the game, smart ones would obviously bet on the better team (likely winning more than 50% of the time in the process).
If winning were that easy the Las Vegas and online sportsbooks would stop taking any bets! This is where the point spread comes in: the basic function of the point spread is to balance the likelihood of each team “winning” by adjusting the final score by the point spread. After this adjustment is made you get the Against The Spread result (ATS result for short).
Let’s look at Super Bowl XXXIX, New England Patriots vs. Philadelphia Eagles. Most people believed the defending champ Patriots to be the better team – so if betting were simply based upon which team would win the game, an uneven majority of people would have wagered on New England. But, by using the point spread, the bookmakers adjusted the terms of the bet, evening the proposition so about half the people believed the Pats to be the smart bet, while the other half considered Philly to be the smart bet.
New England Patriots -7 vs. Philadelphia Eagles
The better team, called the Favorite, is expected to win the game and must “give” or “lay” points to the weaker team. The favorite is listed with a minus sign and the number of points they are favored by (e.g., New England -7)
In the case of our example, New England must not only win the game, but they must win by more than 7 points for Pats bettors to have a winning ATS result. An Eagles bettor wins his bet either if:
There was also the possibility that the final score could land exactly on the spread number (for example, the Pats winning 28-21 when -7), which is called a “push” or “no action” and a refund is then issued to bettors of both teams.
The same game with the same point spread can be considered from the weaker team’s perspective: The Underdog (Philly in the case of our example) is not expected to win the game and online football betting thus receives or “gets” points given by the stronger team. When a game is stated from the underdog’s perspective the team is listed with a plus sign and the number of points they are underdogs by:
Philadelphia Eagles +7 vs. New England Patriots
Keep in mind that Philadelphia +7 and New England -7 is the same point spread on the same game, simply stated differently. The first is from the underdog’s perspective; the later is from the favorite’s.
Not a must, but for some a mathematical approach is insightful. You can determine the ATS winner by either:
Let’s look at the actual result of Super Bowl XXXIX: New England 24 Philadelphia 21
The favorite, New England, won the game but not by more than the point spread they were favored by (7), so the ATS result was a LOSS for Pats bettors.
Looking at it from the underdog’s perspective, Philly did not win the game, but they lost by less than the point spread (7), so the ATS result was a WIN for Eagle bettors.
Mathematically considered, 24 for the favorite Pats minus 7 equals 17, which is less than the 20 the Eagles scored, so the underdog Eagles win the ATS result (or you could figure 20 plus 7 equals 27 for the Eagles, which is more than 24 for the Pats).
Emily’s boyfriend understood the point spread and wagered $100 on the Eagles at +7. The Eagles may not have gotten a Super Bowl ring, but since they won the ATS result Emily’s boyfriend cashed his bet – giving him money to take her out to a nice dinner.
And now hopefully you understand how to read point spreads, putting you one step closer to joining the fun of sports betting.
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting and World Series odds.
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