Magic and Celtics renew rivalry in Beantown
Basketball Betting Lines
02/07/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The latest round of what is quickly becoming one of the
best rivalries in the Eastern Conference takes place at TD Garden this
afternoon as the Atlantic Division-leading Boston Celtics host the Southeast's
top squad, the Orlando Magic.
The Celtics avoided what could have been a rather embarrassing loss on Friday
when Ray Allen poured in 26 points and drilled a critical three-pointer
with two minutes left, as Boston extended lowly New Jersey's woes with a 96-87
win.
Rajon Rondo scored 17 points and dished out 11 assists for the Celtics, who
have beaten the Nets 12 straight times since the tail end of the 2006-07
season and improved to 2-0 on their current three-game homestand. Glen Davis
had 13 points, while Eddie House scored all 10 of his points in the fourth
quarter.
"I don't know what it was, I mean, we just didn't play well in the first
half," Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought it was a game that we
thought that we could just outscore them."
Boston toiled without leading scorer Paul Pierce for the second straight game
against New Jersey. The veteran forward, who has been out with a foot injury,
will be a game-time decision this afternoon.
The Magic, perhaps looking ahead to their matchup with the C's, did suffer an
embarrassing setback to the Southeast Division's worst team, Washington, in
their last encounter on Friday.
Caron Butler fueled a Wizards' comeback over Orlando, scoring 29 of his 31
points in the second half, including the game-winning jumper with a half-
second left in regulation, to push Washington to a surprising 92-91 decision
at Amway Arena.
Butler also grabbed nine rebounds for the Wizards, who trailed by as many as
21 in the contest before outscoring the Magic by 22 in the third quarter to
erase the deficit.
In a back-and-forth final frame, Orlando's Rashard Lewis nearly spoiled the
turnaround by hitting a go-ahead three-pointer with 4.6 seconds to play, but
Butler answered with a baseline 19-footer to send the Magic to just their
fifth home loss this season.
Dwight Howard logged 20 points and 18 rebounds, while Vince Carter chipped in
21 points in Orlando's first loss in five games.
"It is flat-out unacceptable," Carter said. "We did a great job of getting
ourselves back into the game. But unfortunately, when you have a slippage like
that, you're going to lose a buzzer-beater."
Lewis had 12 points and his desperation fadeaway following Butler's eventual
game-winner was well off the mark.
The Magic, who are the reigning Eastern Conference champs, bested the Celts,
who were the 2007-08 NBA champs, in Game 7 of the East semifinals last season
with a 101-82 blowout win in Beantown, but Boston was without star forward
Kevin Garnett.
This season, Orlando has gotten the best of the Celtics in two of the three
encounters between the two teams, including an 83-78 triumph at TD Garden in
November.
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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl
NFL Super Bowl Betting
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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