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Nash, Suns aim to sweep Spurs out of the postseasonBasketball Betting Lines05/09/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Steve Nash and his Phoenix Suns stand on the verge of exorcising quite a few demons tonight as they try and sweep the San Antonio Spurs out of the Western Conference semifinals. Four of the last five times the Suns have been in the playoffs, they were shown the door by the Spurs, and Nash, the former two-time NBA MVP, has never beaten San Antonio in the postseason. That could all change tonight thanks to Nash's understudy, Goran Dragic, a second-round pick of San Antonio in the 2008 draft. Dragic was the unlikely difference-maker for the Suns in Game 3 on Friday, scoring 23 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter to spark Phoenix to a 110-96 comeback victory over the Spurs for a stunning 3-0 series lead. Phoenix essentially erased an 18-point first half deficit by the end of the third quarter and shot 15-of-21 over the final 12 minutes to put the Spurs on the brink of elimination in front of the AT&T Center crowd. Nash, who sat idly on the bench during most of Dragic's heroics, added 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the resounding win. Dragic finished 10-of-13 from the field and made all five of his attempts from behind the arc. "I don't know how many guys in the history of the game have had a quarter like that," Nash said of Dragic's performance. "I'm incredibly proud of him. We've been waiting for him to get confidence and in the flow of the game. Obviously he had that. It was a pleasure to watch." Jason Richardson and Grant Hill chipped in 21 and 18 points, respectively, for the Suns, who shot 15-of-26 from three-point range. Manu Ginobili posted 27 points for the Spurs, who received 15 points and 13 rebounds from Tim Duncan and 12 and 10 from Antonio McDyess. The trio of Tony Parker, Richard Jefferson and George Hill combined to shoot a miserable 7-of-33 from the floor for 22 points in the devastating setback. "It was embarrassing," Ginobili said of the fourth quarter. "They were great and we were pretty poor defensively...It seemed like we just couldn't stop them. It was demoralizing." Parker, who returned to the starting lineup in Friday's contest, needed to have X-rays taken on his lower back after a few hard spills in Game 3 but is expected to play tonight as San Antonio attempts to avoid being swept in the postseason for the first time since the Lakers won all four games in their 2001 conference finals set. No team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win an NBA playoff series but Phoenix is taking nothing for granted. "Somebody said it's 88-0 when you're 3-0," Suns coach Alvin Gentry said. "You know what, there's also a situation where a man didn't walk on the moon until 1969." These two franchises have matched up nine times in the postseason with the Spurs winning six, including the last four. In recent years, the Suns were beaten by San Antonio in a 2008 first-round matchup and a 2007 semifinal series. The Suns haven't beaten San Antonio in the postseason since 2000 and the last three times the Spurs have won the NBA championship, the team eliminated Phoenix along the way. Game 5 in the series, if necessary, will be in Phoenix on Tuesday.
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James and the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers bounced back from their worst playoff performance this year in a big way on Friday. Now, Mike Brown's club hopes to seize control of its Eastern Conference semifinals series
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(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks will try to clinch their second straight trip to the Western Conference finals tonight, when they host the Vancouver Canucks for Game 5 of the conference semifinals at United Center. The second-seede
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FOOTBALL BETTINGAfter all the trouble that’s ensued since Braylon Edwards allegedly punched one of LeBron James’ homeboys in the face at a club, the Cleveland Browns have sent away their last remaining player of worth to the New York Jets. This is a great move for Dirty Sanchez and all, but it’s even better for the Knicks. Now Donnie Walsh can say, “You get to haunt Braylon Edwards with your posse if you sign here!” next summer. Putting that aside for a moment, the move is a clear indication that the new-look Jets are gunning for the Super Bowl this year. I don’t think that New York thought that Dirty Sanchez was going to be such a rock star. With a 75.2 passer rating that was killed against the Jets, Sanchez is doing an admirable job of managing games and putting the Jets in a position to win. The defense has been the major story in New York thus far, but the acquisition of Braylon Edwards makes this offense loaded with talent that can dent any defense…as long as Dirty Sanchez continues his meteoric rise. Thus far, Edwards has been a non-factor in the NFL piling up just 139 receiving yards on 10 catches. He has yet to find the endzone, and with the Browns mired in the most unsexy quarterback controversy of all time (Anderson vs. Quinn...yawn), there going nowhere fast. Edwards is two seasons removed from a career year which saw him catch 80 passes for 1,289 yards and 16 touchdowns when the Browns were the spread killing monsters of 2007. In 2008, injuries slowed the receiver down to just 873 yards and three touchdowns though he played in all 16 games. So that being said, we really don’t know if Braylon Edwards is just a flash in the pan, or a legit threat. At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds, he is a prototypical receiver. But he’s also shown a strange, and unwarranted, talent for dropping passes. Lining up opposite Jericho Cotchery, a speed demon with 23 catches, 356 yards and a single touchdown, may give Braylon the open looks he needs. A change of scenery may also rejuvenate the star receiver. In return, the Browns will receive Chansi Stuckey, online football betting a special teams player you’ve never heard of and a pair of draft picks. That’s a tall order for a guy whose only real value right now is in his name, and it shows no promise to the Browns that they can rebuild around those acquisitions. Braylon was the only reason to hope for the Browns to go 3-14 SU this year. Without him, they don’t have a single guy on offense that can scare any team. For the Jets, it’s a response to the pounding that they took at the hand of the Saints. Thomas Jones and Leon Washington have averaged around 4.0 yards per carry each on the ground, but striking a fair balance between the passing and rushing attacks in New York has been a struggle. You have to believe that the trio of Dustin Keller, Jericho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards will give Sanchez the weapons he needs to unleash through the air. Theoretically, that would open up holes for the rushing game. But the proposed public option health care plan works in theory too. We need to see the proof in the pudding before we start loading up mega bucks on the New York Jets to take the AFC. The one wrinkle in this whole thing is that Braylon could very well be suspended by the league for disciplinary action due to his “brawl” with LeBron’s friend. If that’s the case, the Jets may have to bench him for a few games leaving them with a somewhat depleted receiving corps for a few games. Also, this is a guy who gets in fights with people at clubs. New York may not be the best place for him. Just sayin’. The Jets have a long week before they meet the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football Betting in a virtual pick ‘em game. Braylon’s excess baggage may be a distraction, and his curiously low production may be what we should be expecting of him overall, but for the Jets, taking a chance to strike gold is well worth it. At the end of the year, they can simply just blame it on their rookie quarterback. To visit this sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your college football betting needs. |
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