Celtics and Spurs clash in Beantown

Basketball Betting Lines

03/28/2010 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics clinched their third straight Atlantic Division title in their last outing. Now, Doc Rivers' club hopes to get to work on improving its playoff position in the Eastern Conference when it hosts the San Antonio Spurs.

Paul Pierce finished with 22 points and eight rebounds on Friday, as the Celtics took a 94-86 win over the Sacramento Kings on a night they wrapped up the Atlantic crown.

The third straight division title something Boston hasn't done since taking five in a row from 1984-1988.

Kevin Garnett added 18 points and 13 rebounds, while Ray Allen finished with 20 points in the win, the Celtics' sixth in their last seven games. Rajon Rondo had a career-high 18 assists in the victory.

Rondo also had three steals, which gave him the Celtics' franchise record for steals in a season. He had entered the contest tied with Rick Fox at 167.

"I think tonight we were more appreciative of Rondo, and his accomplishments," said Garnett. "Any time you get any kind of record in this organization on a team like what we have, is a huge thing. We are just appreciative of being in the moment, being here, being a part of it. It is a very special moment, and no one even talked about the division title tonight. Tonight was Rondo's night."

Boston is now third in the East, a game ahead of Atlanta and three games south of Orlando for the second spot with 10 games to play.

The Spurs, meanwhile, are coming off a huge win over Cleveland on Friday. Manu Ginobili scored half of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, rallying San Antonio past the Cavaliers, 102-97, and snapping Cleveland's eight-game winning streak.

Richard Jefferson and Tim Duncan each registered 16 points, while George Hill chipped in 14 points, nine rebounds and six assists, as the Spurs bounced back from a nine-point home loss to the Lakers on Wednesday to stay in the seventh place in the Western Conference, percentage points ahead of Portland.

"It was a fun game," Ginobili said. "Every time you play the best in the league it's a real challenge. We are very happy to have won this one. We are still a little sad about the last game with the Lakers...we feel we could have won it too...but that shows that even though we haven't had a great season we are not that far away. If we can get a little bit better every game we will be in good shape."

Tonight's game marks the first time veteran Michael Finley will be facing San Antonio since the Spurs waived him on March 1. The Celtics signed the swingman Finley five days later and he has averaged 5.8 points in Beantown.

The Celtics have won four of their last five games against the Spurs, including a 90-83 triumph at San Antonio back in December.

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FOOTBALL BETTING LINES

NFL Football Sports Betting

Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.

New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.

His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.

HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.

The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.

RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.

First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.

The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.

These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.

New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.

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