Paul leads Clippers past Nuggets

Basketball Betting Lines

02/23/2012 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Paul had a season-high 36 points to go along with nine assists as the Los Angeles Clippers pulled away in the fourth quarter to down the Denver Nuggets, 103-95, at Staples Center.

Blake Griffin added 27 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for the Clippers, who snapped a two-game losing streak as they head into the All-Star break.

"We wanted to get that bad taste out of our mouth from dropping the last two [games]," said Griffin. "We did a good job defensively in the fourth quarter. We wanted to go into the break on the right foot."

Arron Afflalo paced the Nuggets with 20 points, while Jordan Hamilton added a career-high 18 points for Denver, which has dropped 11 of its last 15 games.

Los Angeles held a slight, 80-79, advantage entering the fourth quarter and opened the frame with a 9-4 spurt to take an 89-83 advantage.

Denver answered with eight straight points to take a two-point lead with 6:47 left in the game, but the Nuggets would not make another shot from the floor.

The Clippers took full advantage of the Nuggets' offensive woes, closing the game with a 14-4 swing to run away with the victory.

"They made shots at the right time and we missed shots. They rebounded and we just couldn't put the ball in the basket," Nuggets guard Andre Miller said.

Los Angeles held a pair of five-point leads and Denver lead by as much as three on two separate occasions in a back-and-forth first quarter that had seven lead changes, four ties and ended with the score tied at 27.

Denver opened the second quarter with a 7-2 run to jump out to its largest lead of the contest so far, 34-29.

Los Angeles, though, responded with a 6-2 swing to retake the lead, and neither team took a lead larger than four points for the remainder of the half. Arron Afflalo's trey within the final 30 seconds gave the Nuggets a 54-52 advantage at the break.

The back-and-forth affair continued in the third quarter, which saw seven lead changes and seven ties.

After a short Paul jumper knotted the game at 63, Denver used a 6-2 spurt to take the largest advantage of the frame, 69-64, with 5 1/2 minutes left.

But Griffin and Paul combined to scored the Clippers' next 12 points in a 12-4 run to put LA on top, 76-73. The team's traded buckets for the rest of the third and the Clippers carried an 80-79 lead into the fourth after Kosta Koufos failed to tie the game in the closing seconds when he went 1-for-2 at the foul line.

Game Notes

Denver hosts the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday for its last game before the All-Star break...The Nuggets were playing without leading scorer Danilo Gallinari (left ankle) and their top rebounder Nene (left calf strain)...The game had a total of 23 lead changes and 16 ties...Denver held a 21-11 advantage in second-chance points.

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Sportsbook betting odds favor Europe in Ryder Cup

September 19, – Despite holding a decided edge in the all-time series, with 24 wins, 2 ties and 10 losses, Team USA is the underdog again heading into the Ryder Cup in Kidare, Ireland this weekend, according to MySportsbook.com.  The Europeans have captured four of the past five editions, including their largest victory ever, an 18 ½ to 9 ½ thumping in Michigan in 2004. Current Ryder Cup betting odds favor the Europeans to continue their winning ways; they are a 4-5 bet to take the title, compared to 6-5 for the Americans. 

Despite being knocked out in the first round of World Match play by Shaun Micheel, Tiger Woods is predicted to lead the US charge and be their highest point scorer for the week, with odds listed at 9-4 that he outpoints all other American players, including Jim Furyk, Phil Mickelson and Chris DiMarco to  name a  few.  Team USA has four relatively unknown players on the roster but all four are 2007 tournament winners and have posted some of season’s best performances, each earning over $1.5 million on the PGA TOUR.  They include Zach Johnson, Vaughan Taylor, JJ Henry and Brett Wetterich.

The experienced European squad includes the likes of Luke Donald, Sergio Garcia, Padraig Harrington, Jose Maria Olazabal and Darren Clarke, who’s emotions will be tested after the passing of his wife to a battle with cancer.  Donald and Garcia are in particularly good form and each is a 5-1 bet to lead the European squad in the points race. Donald has proven he can go head to head with Woods at a major event after a run for the $1.2 million purse at the PGA Championship. Garcia’s Ryder Cup credentials prove he’s ready for battle too.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your golf sportsbook needs.

Ryder Cup Odds

Europe
Tie
USA
4-5
10-1
6-5


Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
Tiger Woods
Jim Furyk
Phil Mickelson
Chris DiMarco
David Toms
Stewart Cink
Chad Campbell
Scott Verplank
Zach Johnson
Vaughan Taylor
JJ Henry
Brett Wetterich
9-4
4-1
5-1
7-1
8-1
12-1
15-1
15-1
25-1
30-1
30-1
50-1


Ryder Cup Top European scorer
Sergio Garcia
Luke Donald
Padraig Harrington
Colin Montgomerie
Darren Clarke
David Howell
Lee Westwood
Paul Casey
Henrik Stenson
Jose Maria Olazabal
Paul McGinley
Robert Karlsson
5-1
5-1
6-1
13-2
8-1
9-1
9-1
11-1
12-1
12-1
20-1
25-1

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com