West drops 40 to lead Hornets' comeback over Magic

Basketball Betting Lines

02/27/2010 - New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West finished with 40 points and 10 rebounds, as the New Orleans Hornets fought back from a big second-half deficit to take a 100-93 victory over the Orlando Magic.

Marcus Thornton added 18 points and seven rebounds off the bench, while Darren Collison had 16 points and seven assists for the Hornets, who trailed by as many as 18 in the third quarter.

But New Orleans held the Magic to 4-of-18 shooting and 13 points in the fourth quarter on the way to ending a two-game slide.

Dwight Howard had 26 points and 10 boards to pace Orlando, which had won its last two. Jameer Nelson added 19 points and 11 assists in the loss.

Nelson's layup with 6:11 left in the third quarter ended a six-point burst that put Orlando ahead 71-53, but the Hornets ran off the next 10 points to stay in the game.

Collison sparked the rally with two buckets, and West ended the run with two of his own to get New Orleans within 71-63.

The Hornets faced an 80-72 deficit moving to the fourth, a deficit they completely erased by opening the final frame with a nine-point run. West scored the final seven points, as his layup put New Orleans ahead 81-80 with 8:24 to play.

The teams traded the lead over the next few minutes, but the Hornets took control with 11 straight points. Reserve big man Aaron Gray connected on a pair of jumpers in the run, which Thornton ended with a three-pointer for a 96-86 lead. With just 51.1 seconds left, the shot effectively ended Orlando's comeback hopes.

The Hornets led 26-21 after the first quarter, though Orlando's offense started clicking in the second. The Magic connected on 14-of-22 field goal tries en route to a 56-46 halftime lead.

Orlando continued to play in front in the third, and Nelson's jumper with 8:23 on the clock pushed the Magic advantage to 65-51.

Game Notes

New Orleans scored 18 points off 18 Magic turnovers...The Hornets made 19- of-25 foul shots, while the Magic were 10-of-16 from the line...J.J. Redick and Matt Barnes had 11 and 10 points, respectively, for Orlando.

Hitboz Basketball Betting News

<< Butler caps perfect Horizon record with win over Valparaiso
Valparaiso, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Willie Veasley returned from an ankle injury to score 20 points and grab six rebounds, and 15th-ranked Butler ran the table in the Horizon League for the first time in school history with a 74-69 win over Va

<< Lopez's career night helps Suns past Clippers
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robin Lopez made 13-of-16 shots from the field on his way to a career-high 30 points while pulling down a career-best 12 rebounds, as the Phoenix Suns continued their recent dominance over the Los Angeles

<< Billups, Anthony lead Nuggets past Pistons
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chauncey Billups ended with 25 points and Carmelo Anthony chipped in 24, as the Nuggets ended a seven-game losing streak to the Pistons with a 107-102 victory at the Pepsi Center. J.R. Smith and Joey G

<< Trio of Rockets score 30-plus in win over Spurs
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Martin finished with 33 points, Aaron Brooks had 31 and Luis Scola ended with a career-high 30, as the Houston Rockets made team history in a 109-104 victory over the San Antonio Spurs. It is t

<< Bulls stay hot, top Blazers in OT
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Luol Deng scored seven points in overtime, and Derrick Rose scored 33 overall, leading the Chicago Bulls to a 115-111 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers. Deng finished with 23 points and seven boards, w

Gasol, Bynum lead Lakers past Sixers >>
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Pau Gasol posted 23 points and 11 rebounds and Andrew Bynum added 20 and 13, as the Lakers pulled away late in the fourth quarter for a 99-90 victory over Philadelphia. Kobe Bryant ended with 19 points and

Udrih leads Kings over Jazz >>
Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Beno Udrih scored a season-high 25 points, as the Sacramento Kings edged the Utah Jazz, 103-99, at ARCO Arena. Tyreke Evans added 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for the Kings, who snapped a

Ferrer, Ferrero to do battle in Mexican Open final >>
Acapulco, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Third-seeded David Ferrer and fourth- seeded Juan Carlos Ferrero each won their respective semifinal matches Friday to set up an all-Spanish final at the $1.08 million Mexican Open. Ferrero took the

Jordan to have majority ownership of Bobcats >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Charlotte Bobcats owner Bob Johnson reportedly announced in the early hours Saturday morning that he has reached a definitive agreement to sell a majority interest of the club to Michael Jordan and MJ

Inkster, Miyazato share lead in Singapore >>
Singapore (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Juli Inkster and Ai Miyazato both carded three- under 69s Saturday and they share the lead after three rounds of the HSBC Women's Champions. Inkster and Miyazato completed 54 holes at seven-under-par 2

Football Betting

NFL Football Betting Online

The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.

Thursday, August 21

NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37

NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road

In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):

* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games

Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.

Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.

Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.

That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.

Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.

CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

The 2008 NFL betting lines season is almost upon us! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join sportbook today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLIII and beyond!

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting odds .