Clippers top Dallas for first victory

Basketball Betting Lines

11/09/2008 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Baron Davis scored a team-high 22 points and added 10 assists as the Los Angeles Clippers earned their first win of the season by defeating the Dallas Mavericks, 103-92, at the Staples Center.

Al Thornton chipped in 17 points, while Chris Kaman added 10 points and nine rebounds for the Clippers, who snapped a six-game losing streak to start the season and 13-game losing skid overall, dating back to last season.

Dirk Nowitzki had a game-high 33 points and pulled down seven rebounds for Dallas, which has lost two straight. Gerald Green scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds starting in place of forward Josh Howard, who missed the contest with a wrist injury.

Jason Kidd finished with seven points and nine assists for Dallas.

With LA clinging to a 47-45 lead after one half, the Clippers managed to stretch its lead to double digits after Davis hit from beyond the arc, giving the hosts a 64-54 edge at the midpoint of the third quarter.

The Mavericks tried hanging in the contest, and after six points from Jose Barea and three free throws from Nowitzki in the final three minutes of the quarter, the visitors trailed 73-69 after three periods.

In the fourth, LA continued to play front-runner in the early going, but an 8-2 run, highlighted by a Jerry Stackhouse dunk, tied the game at 79-79 with 8:31 remaining. Jason Terry's jumper forged the deadlock.

But the Clippers would not be denied as they scored 13 straight points, including two free throws from Thornton after a flagrant foul was whistled against Kidd.

"We battled hard to get back in the game," Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle said. "We dug a hole and we battled back. They went on a 13-0 run and we didn't shoot well."

Dallas was unable to put a dent into the LA advantage and the Clippers coasted to the finish.

"It's great to win and it's a lot better than losing," Davis said. "Our young guys played great. We've been patient with each other and we're working together. We concentrated on rebounding today and Marcus Camby is working his way back into shape. We were able to pressure their defense. It just feels good to get a win."

With the Clippers holding a 25-24 lead after one quarter, LA got a jumper from Jason Hart and three-pointer by Eric Gordon to go up by six in the early stages of the second quarter. They extended the lead to eight following another Gordon three with 7:44 left in the half.

Dallas, however, answered with a trey from Green and layup by Kidd to cut its deficit to 37-34 near the midway point of the second stanza.

Los Angeles kept the Mavs at bay for the remainder of the quarter, but a tip- in by Nowitzki in the closing seconds got Dallas to within two points heading into the intermission.

Game Notes

Camby finished with nine points and 14 rebounds...Dallas will next host the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, while the Clippers host Sacramento on Wednesday night...LA snapped a six-game losing skid versus Dallas.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

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Big 12 Conference betting odds

Work left to do: Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas State

Texas joins Texas A&M and Kansas as locks after getting league win No. 11. Texas Tech greatly helped its own hopes and crippled OK State's with the two-point win Saturday. Is K-State the last reasonable hopeful? Could be an elimination match in Stillwater on Tuesday, at least for the Cowboys.

Work left to do:

Texas Tech [18-11 (7-7), RPI: 44, SOS: 12] A critical two-point win over OK State leaves the Red Raiders with Baylor and at Iowa State left. Get both and the Red Raiders likely are good to go. Get one and there could be some interesting comparisons with a K-State team that could finish two or three games "ahead" of them in the standings but doesn't have any of the quality wins Texas Tech has. Not a lot in nonconference play (against Arkansas in Little Rock being the best win, by far) to lean on.

Oklahoma State [18-9 (5-8), RPI: 50, SOS: 35] Still without a road win, the Cowboys now need to win two on the road just to get to .500 in conference play. It's hard to recall a team (OK, other than Clemson) falling so precipitously from lock status to almost certainly out of the NCAAs at this point. There are wins to be had in the last three, including a very big home game against K-State on Tuesday, but this team is reeling. Can you tell the pressure to win is getting to them with the way the final possession played out at Texas Tech? There are some good nonconference performances to lean on, specifically beating Missouri State and Syracuse on neutral floors and Pitt in OK City, but if the Pokes don't right this very, very soon, that won't be enough.

Kansas State [20-9 (9-5), RPI: 56, SOS: 96] It pays to be in the Big 12 North. The nine league wins are Colorado (twice), Missouri (twice), Iowa State (twice), Baylor, Nebraska and (a good one against) Texas. That helps explain the middling computer profile. The win over USC is nice, but the nonconference leaves a lot to be desired. The game at OK State in Stillwater on Tuesday is huge, as it could KO the Cowboys and leave K-State with a home date against Oklahoma with which to work.