Celtics squash Pistons; Iverson flat in home debut
Basketball Betting Lines
11/09/2008 - Auburn Hills, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tony Allen had 23 points off the bench, and Ray Allen added 17 points and eight rebounds, as the Boston Celtics defeated the Detroit Pistons, 88-76, in the teams' first meeting since last season's Eastern Conference finals.
Rajon Rondo chipped in with 13 points and Kevin Garnett had eight points and 12 boards for the Celtics, who have won four straight games and six of their first seven to start the season.
"Best defense of the year by far and it was all game," said Boston coach Doc Rivers. "We had active hands, were physical, got up in their bodies and it was neat to see and very nice."
Tayshaun Prince had 23 points and eight rebounds, while Will Bynum had 11 points for Detroit, which has lost two straight games. Allen Iverson, playing in his first home game since being acquired from Denver for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb, had 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
Rasheed Wallace had 10 points and 11 boards for Detroit, which was beaten in six games by the Celtics in the East finals.
It was a particularly tough night for Richard Hamilton, who finished 0-for-8 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
"Us not making shots didn't help," said Iverson. "We got a lot of good looks at the basket, we just didn't knock the shots down. I don't think offense is going to be a problem too much, that's a positive we take out of this game. We just could never get it going offensively. As we get our chemistry together and some time to play together we'll start hitting shots."
With the Celtics holding a 47-29 lead after one half of play, things continued to get worse for the hosts as Boston came out of the locker room and extended their advantage to 20 following a jumper by Paul Pierce.
Boston continued to maintain a double-digit lead through the entire third quarter and a jumper by Glen Davis in the closing seconds, put the visitors up by a 69-49 margin after three.
In the fourth, the storyline didn't change as the Celtics built a 76-53 advantage and coasted to the finish.
After the Pistons held a 19-17 advantage after one quarter, Boston exploded, going on a 20-6 run in the second, taking a 37-25 lead with 3:31 left in the half. Tony Allen had 10 of those points.
Boston finished out the stanza on a strong note, getting a jumper by Garnett and layup by Tony Allen as part of an 8-0 spurt to finish the half.
The Pistons shot just 3-of-16 in the second quarter while the Celtics went 11-of-17.
Game Notes
The Pistons will next play at Sacramento on Tuesday night, while Boston hosts Toronto on Monday night...Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey left early in the second quarter with dizziness and did not return...The Celtics went 2-1 against Detroit last season, but despite the loss the Pistons have won 14 of the last 18 matchups in this series...Prior to the contest, Boston had lost seven of eight and 10 of its last 12 games in the Motor City.
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Baseball Writers' Association of America will hand out their first two postseason honors on Monday, as the American and National League Rookies of the Year will be announced. Tampa Bay third baseman Evan Longori
<< Johnson on the brink of third-straight title with Phoenix win
Avondale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jimmie Johnson took a huge step closer towards
capturing his record-tying third-consecutive Sprint Cup Series championship
with a dominating victory in Sunday's Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500 at
Phoenix
<< Oklahoma City F Wilcox leaves game
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Oklahoma City forward Chris Wilcox left
the Thunder's game Sunday against the Hawks after spraining his right knee in
the first quarter.
Wilcox, who was averaging 7.2 points and 6 rebounds, remai
<< Johnson on the brink of third consecutive title with Phoenix win
Avondale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jimmie Johnson won Sunday's Checker O'Reilly
Auto Parts 500 with a dominating performance at the Phoenix International
Raceway. Johnson, the two-time defending Sprint Cup Series champion, led 217
of 313
<< Line of Scrimmage: Coaching Carousel to Spin Out of Control
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mark your calendars - Black Monday in the
NFL is scheduled for December 29th.
As a long Christmas weekend gives way to pre-New Year's euphoria, it is
possible that roughly one-third of the league's coachin
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Patrick Kane and Martin Havlat both collected a goal and two assists, as the surging Chicago Blackhawks trumped the Calgary Flames, 6-1, at the United Center. Jonathan Toews and Kris Versteeg each had a
Hawks remain unbeaten by edging Thunder >>
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Johnson scored 25 points to help the
Atlanta Hawks remain unbeaten with an 89-85 victory over the Oklahoma City
Thunder.
Marvin Williams added 16 points for the Hawks, who at 5-0 are off to t
Oilers edge Devils >>
Newark, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers stopped 37-of-38 shots,
and the Edmonton Oilers edged the New Jersey Devils, 2-1.
Ales Hemsky had a goal and an assist, and Sheldon Souray scored the other goal
for the Oilers, who ha
Booth picks up hat trick as Panthers top Ducks >>
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Booth recorded his first hat trick and
Craig Anderson stopped 44 shots, as the Florida Panthers put the brakes on a
six-game skid with a 3-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.
Stephen Weiss and Jassen
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Glendale, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Olli Jokinen scored two goals and added an
assist, as the Phoenix Coyotes doubled up San Jose, 4-2, and snapped the
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Peter Mueller registered a goal and an assist
Dallas Cowboys Super Bowl Odds
Will he or won't he? Now that the Dallas Cowboys have a new head coach in Wade Phillips, the big question will be: Does Terrell Owens stay with the team.
Jerry Jones continues to suggest that Terrell Owens will remain with the team.
"I've said that he's back, he's here, he's under contract," Jones said. "In the interviews I've just been through (to hire a new coach), it was very clear to me how highly he's thought of and how much of an impact he had on our offensive success."
Just to be sure though, Terrell Owens cleared out his locker and removed his name plate.
Terrell Owens was among the Cowboys most productive players this past season, catching 85 passes for 1,180 yards and a league-best 13 touchdowns.
But T.O. is due a $3 million roster bonus in June, then a $5 million salary this season. Cutting him before then would save a lot of money and headaches.
Aside from the questions surrounding Terrell Owens, the oddsmakers at MySportsbook.com have concerns over starting quarterback Tony Romo's state of mind and whether he will remain a starting quarterback. It is also not known how players will adjust to new head coach, Wade Phillips.
Here are the football odds as seen at MySportsbook.com and subject to change after February 10, 2007 if not locked in prior to that date.
Arizona Cardinals 60-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Baltimore Ravens 15-1
Buffalo Bills 50-1
Carolina Panthers 18-1
Chicago Bears 10-1
Cincinnati Bengals 15-1
Cleveland Browns 100-1
Dallas Cowboys 15-1
Denver Broncos 15-1
Detroit Lions 100-1
Green Bay Packers 50-1
Houston Texans 100-1
Indianapolis Colts 6-1
Jacksonville Jaguars 30-1
Kansas City Chiefs 30-1
Miami Dolphins 40-1
Minnesota Vikings 75-1
New England Patriots 10-1
New Orleans Saints 18-1
New York Giants 20-1
New York Jets 30-1
Oakland Raiders 100-1
Philadelphia Eagles 18-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10-1
Saint Louis Rams 60-1
San Diego Chargers 6-1
San Francisco 49ers 75-1
Seattle Seahawks 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccanneers 75-1
Tennessee Titans 40-1
Washington Redskins 50-1
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