Football Betting

Carter leads Magic over Boston

Basketball Betting Lines

02/07/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Vince Carter led a balanced attack with 20 points and Dwight Howard logged 16 points and 13 rebounds despite battling foul trouble, as Orlando rallied back from an 11-point halftime deficit to beat Boston, 96-89 at TD Garden.

Jameer Nelson added 15 points and Rashard Lewis 14 for the Magic, who previously notched a win in Boston back in November -- then edged the C's in Orlando on January 28 to help take the season series 3-1.

Rajon Rondo put forth a solid effort with 17 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Celtics, who had a three-game win streak broken.

Paul Pierce returned from a foot injury to post 13 points as did Kevin Garnett, who added nine rebounds. Ray Allen shot 4-of-13 from the floor to end with 14 points.

Trailing 51-40 at the break, the Magic turned the tide in the third quarter, outscoring Boston 36-11. After Rondo sank a three close to five minutes in for a nine-point lead, Carter sparked a 19-0 run for Orlando by hitting a three- ball and converting a conventional three-point play.

Carter added another long distance make during the stretch, which morphed into a 25-2 surge to close the quarter with the Magic up 76-62.

Orlando continued to use the three-point shot to pull away, as Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes each hit from beyond for an 82-65 difference just a minute in.

The Celtics began to scrape back with Glen Davis' three-point play making it a 12-point affair, 86-74, with under eight minutes left. But Pietrus again stroked a three and three straight free throws by Howard made it 92-79 nearing three minutes remaining. Boston made a late push, but couldn't overcome Orlando's hearty lead.

The C's held a slim 24-23 lead after 12 minutes of play, and used a 13-4 run to close the first half for a 51-40 advantage.

Game Notes

The Magic drained 11-of-22 from three-point range...Barnes scored 11 points for Orlando...Boston was 5-of-16 from beyond the arc...Davis was 4-of-13 shooting for nine points with seven boards for Boston.


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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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