12/03/2008 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yao Ming scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, leading the Houston Rockets to a 103-96 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers at Toyota Center.
Rafer Alston added 21 points, seven assists and eight rebounds for the Rockets, who have won seven of 10. Ron Artest contributed a 19-point effort, while Carl Landry posted 12 points and eight rebounds in the win.
Zach Randolph had 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers, who have lost six of seven. Al Thornton added 24 points and nine boards, while Marcus Camby posted a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Baron Davis scored 13 points and dished out nine assists in the loss.
Clinging to a one-point lead after three quarters, Houston began the fourth on a 6-0 run to take a seven-point advantage. Steve Novak made it a four-point game on a jumper for LA with 7 1/2 minutes left, but the Rockets surged to an eight-point advantage behind Artest's layup and two free throws.
Yao's jumper from close range gave Houston a 97-89 lead with 3:06 left, and Landry followed with a couple free throws with 1:27 to go, increasing the lead to 10. The Rockets were able to hold on from there.
Yao scored 10 points in the first quarter, and the Rockets held a 27-19 advantage after the opening period.
Jason Hart's free throw pulled the Clippers to within four at 43-39, but the Rockets extended their lead to seven before halftime, 53-46.
Houston went up by as many as 15 on Yao's jumper with 10 minutes left in the third, but the Clippers climbed back into it. LA started with a 9-0 run after giving up the jumper to make it 61-55.
Davis got the Clips to within one headed into the fourth, hitting a three- pointer with just four seconds left to make it 77-76.
Game Notes
LA rookie Eric Gordon provided 10 points...Yao was 12-of-13 from the free throw line...Houston leads the season series, 2-0...Seven of the Clippers' next nine games are on the road.
<< Ming fuels Rockets past Clippers
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Yao Ming scored 24 points and grabbed 10
rebounds, leading the Houston Rockets to a 103-96 victory over the Los Angeles
Clippers at Toyota Center.
Rafer Alston added 21 points, seven assists and ei
<< No. 15 Wake Forest routs Indiana
Winston-Salem, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Johnson scored 21 points and
grabbed five rebounds, leading the 15th-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons to an
83-58 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
Johnson shot
<< Smith returns for Hawks
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith, who had
missed the previous 12 games due to a high left ankle sprain, returned to
action by starting Wednesday's 105-95 win against Memphis.
Smith played just 11 min
<< Backstrom, power play fuel Wild win over Blues
St. Paul, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Coming off a career-worst performance in his
last outing, Niklas Backstrom turned aside all 22 shots he faced to record his
third shutout of the season, as the Minnesota Wild blanked the St. Louis
Blues,
BC Lions release Clermont >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The British Columbia Lions released slotback
Jason Clermont Wednesday night.
A first-round draft pick by the Lions in 2002, Clermont has 428 career catches
for 5,917 yards, placing him sixth on the club'
Cards pick up Greene from Padres >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have reportedly
acquired shortstop Khalil Greene from the San Diego Padres.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that two minor league relievers will be
heading the other way i
Spurs battle Nuggets at Pepsi Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The San Antonio Spurs arrive in the Rocky Mountains
Thursday to take on the streaking Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center.
The Spurs dropped their second straight game on Tuesday in San Antonio when
Detroit's Al
Suns attempt to end skid in Dallas >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Phoenix Suns will try to stop a season-high three-game
losing streak tonight when they pay a visit to the Dallas Mavericks at
American Airlines Center.
The Suns dropped their third in a row after Wednesday's
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.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
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