Game Sparks Road Down Quarter

Basketball Betting Lines

Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Love celebrated his contract extension in predictable fashion, scoring 31 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the Timberwolves' 105-90 trouncing of the shorthanded Mavericks. Love, who agreed to a four-year extension earlier Wednesday, notched his 16th straight double-double, as the Timberwolves halted a two-game slide. Ricky Rubio added 17 points and 12 assists and Wayne Ellington scored 16.

 

The Mavericks, meanwhile, received their 2011 NBA championship rings prior to the game. Dirk Nowitzki participated in the ceremony but not the loss, missing his third straight game with a sore knee.

 

For Dallas, the scene was fairly reminiscent of Christmas Day, when the team unfurled its first-ever NBA championship banner to great excitement, then suffered a season-opening shellacking at the hands of the Heat.

 

The advantage grew to 17 in the fourth, as Love poured in 12 points over the final 12 minutes and the Timberwolves cracked the century mark, becoming the first team to do so against the Mavs in 16 games.

 

The Mavericks' streak of holding its previous 15 opponents under 100 points marked a franchise record...Love would have become a restricted free agent if he and the Timberwolves didn't complete a deal before Wednesday's 11 p.m. deadline. The former No. 5 overall draft pick has averaged 15.8 points and 11.9 rebounds in three-plus seasons for Minnesota...Former Mav and current Minnesota reserve J.J. Barea received his championship ring but didn't play due to a sprained left ankle.

 

Chris Paul returned to action after missing five games with a hamstring injury and contributed 12 assists and four points.

 

Bargnani, who played his second game after missing the previous six with a strained calf, scored all of his points in regulation. He played 3:55 in the first overtime before sitting the rest of the game.

 

The back-breaker in the second overtime was Calderon's three-pointer from 10 feet behind the arc to beat the shot clock, giving Toronto a six-point lead with 86 seconds left.

 

"It's a tough loss for us because we know we should have won the game," said Millsap, who scored 31. "(It fell apart) in the second quarter. Our defense was poor."

 

The Raptors trailed by six midway through the fourth quarter after a Millsap three-pointer. They were quickly within one after that, setting up a frantic final minute of regulation.

 

Devin Harris, who scored 24 for the Jazz, drove the baseline for a finger roll that gave them a three-point lead again.

 

Millsap made up for the gaffe in the first overtime on a dramatic shot clock- beating tip-in off Gordon Hayward's airballed three-pointer, tying the game at 95-95 after the Jazz had been down by five.

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Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .