Magic beat Sixers by 21

Basketball Betting Lines

03/01/2010 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jameer Nelson scored 22 points and dished out 10 assists, and seven Orlando players scored in double-figures to help the Magic rout the 76ers, 126-105, at Wachovia Center.

Rashard Lewis and Vince Carter each added 19 points for the Magic, who have won eight of 11 overall and six straight regular season games over the Sixers, whom the team beat in the first round of last year's Eastern Conference playoffs.

Matt Barnes contributed 16 points, and Dwight Howard had 14 points. J.J. Redick recorded 11 points, and Mickael Pietrus 10 to complete the balanced attack, as Orlando shot a blistering 58.4 percent from the field and 65.2 percent from three-point range.

"Obviously we shot the ball very well, and this game came down to who made shots," said Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy. "I don't think either team put much effort in defensively quite honestly. It was pretty easy for both teams to get shots and we shot better than they did."

Jrue Holiday posted a career-high 23 points -- 15 in the first quarter -- for the Sixers, who were coming off a 1-3 road trip. Andre Iguodala added 19, while Thaddeus Young had 17 in a losing cause.

"We lost the passion to compete," said 76ers head coach Eddie Jordan. "We were dominated, but we have to learn how to compete and keep our chin up. This team hasn't learned that, and it's a lack of leadership in that room (the locker room). The coaches are trying -- believe me."

Lou Williams scored 13 points and dished out seven assists, and Samuel Dalembert had 12 points and 11 boards for Philadelphia.

Holiday matched his career-high in points in the first quarter with 15, as the Sixers took a 36-35 lead after 12 minutes. But the Magic went in front by a 68-61 margin at halftime.

Orlando then dominated Philadelphia in the third quarter, pulling away for good.

A Barnes three-pointer in the early moments had the visitors ahead by 10, 73-63, and a Lewis triple later put the Magic ahead by a score of 94-79 with just over three minutes to go.

After Marreese Speights drilled a shot for Philadelphia, Orlando scored eight straight points to end the quarter. Nelson's three capped a period where the Magic went 11-of-16 from the field, giving the team a commanding 102-81 advantage heading to the fourth.

Orlando led by as many as 28 in the final period.

Game Notes

Orlando defeated Philadelphia in six games in last season's playoff series...Holiday had six assists...Carter had seven rebounds...Howard had a season-low in rebounds with three. The last time he was held to three or fewer rebounds was when he grabbed only three boards in a loss to Phoenix on December 11, 2006...Philadelphia shot 48.8 percent from the field...The Sixers played without forward Elton Brand, who sat due to Achilles' tendinitis.

Wwwgamblingregistry Basketball Betting News

<< Cavs start strong, rout Knicks
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - LeBron James scored 22 points, dished out seven assists, and pulled down seven rebounds, as the Cleveland Cavaliers continued their recent dominance over the New York Knicks with a 124-93 rout at Quic

<< Thrashers acquire F Artyukhin from Anaheim
Atlanta, GA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Atlanta Thrashers acquired forward Evgeny Artyukhin from the Anaheim Ducks on Monday in exchange for defenseman Nathan Oystrick and a conditional draft choice in 2011. Artyukhin, who was in his first s

<< Syracuse's second half defense sparks upset of No. 7 West Virginia
Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Erica Morrow scored 23 points with five rebounds and five assists, and the Syracuse Orange used suffocating defense in the second half to upset the seventh-ranked Mountaineers, 67-48, at the Carrier

<< Butler leads WVU over Hoyas
Morgantown, WV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Da'Sean Butler filled the stat sheet in his final game at WVU Coliseum, totaling 22 points, six rebounds and six assists to lead No. 10 West Virginia to an 81-68 victory over the struggling 19th-ra

<< UConn closes in on record; Charles reaches milestone
South Bend, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tina Charles posted 18 points and eight rebounds while becoming the Huskies' all-time leading scorer and rebounder, as top-ranked Connecticut finished off its second straight undefeated regular season

Mavs continue mastery of Bobcats, win eighth straight >>
Charlotte, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dirk Nowitzki scored 16 of his 27 points in the second half and also pulled down 13 rebounds, as Dallas won its eighth straight game and remained perfect against the Charlotte Bobcats with an 89-84 decisio

Smith, Hawks bring down hammer on Bulls >>
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Smith paced a balanced scoring attack with 17 points and a season-high 18 rebounds, as the Atlanta Hawks dominated the glass to defeat the shorthanded Chicago Bulls, 116-92, at United Center. Smith had

Hill, Spurs top Hornets >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - George Hill poured in 23 points and grabbed five rebounds, as the San Antonio Spurs handled the Hornets, 106-92, at New Orleans Arena. Tim Duncan added 22 points and nine rebounds for the Spurs, who ha

Roy, Blazers rally in second half to down Grizzlies >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Brandon Roy scored a game-high 25 points, grabbed seven rebounds and handed out five assists, helping Portland erase a double-digit halftime deficit en route to a 103-93 victory over Memphis. Nicolas B

Brooks and Martin shine as Rockets blow out Raptors >>
Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin both netted a game-high 28 points as the Houston Rockets blew out the Toronto Raptors, 116-92, at the Toyota Center. David Andersen added 16 points in almost 23 minute

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.