Durant's key points help Thunder down Pacers

Basketball Betting Lines

01/09/2010 - Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Durant matched a season-high with 40 points and was key down the stretch in helping the Oklahoma City Thunder take a 108-102 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Durant shot 12-of-18 overall and scored six consecutive points with under three minutes left, turning a two-point edge into an eight-point cushion and essentially sealing the victory.

Russell Westbrook ended with 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Oklahoma City, which rebounded from Wednesday's loss to New Orleans.

Danny Granger had 25 points to pace Indiana, which has lost two in a row. Rookie A.J. Price had a career-high 23 points, while Troy Murphy added 15 points and 15 boards in the loss.

The Thunder held a double-digit lead going into the fourth quarter and were still up 93-83 after Westbrook's layup with eight minutes to play. But Price fueled a Pacers comeback, scoring eight in a nine-point run. He hit two threes in the rally, including one to end it with 5:15 left, bringing Indiana within 93-92.

Then, with 3:11 to play, Price sank two free throws to again get the Pacers within a possession, 96-94.

But Durant took over, countering with a jumper on the Thunder's next trip downcourt. After a failed possession for each team, Durant got to the line and made both.

The Pacers had opportunities to slash their deficit, but Granger missed two shots, and Durant drained a step-back jumper with 51.3 on the clock to make it a 102-94 game. Westbrook then converted a turnover into a dunk for a 10-point lead, putting an exclamation point on the win.

Oklahoma City led 24-21 after the first quarter, and Durant scored 12 in the second quarter to help the Thunder take a 53-47 advantage at the break.

The Thunder then scored eight of the first nine points of the third quarter, with Jeff Green's three-point play make it a 61-48 game. Oklahoma City led by as many as 18 before the Pacers got within 87-74 at the end of the frame.

Game Notes

Durant has scored 40 points in three separate games this season. His career high is 47...The Thunder shot 51.4 percent...While Granger had 25 points, he shot just 6-of-21, as the Pacers made only 39.6 percent of their shots.

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Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

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SPORTS BETTING

NFL Football Betting Online

In terms of sports wagering, the NFL is "the most popular game in town." The explanation behind that is easy.

It is called the "pointspread."

Many years ago, NFL games, as well as the more popular college games, used straight odds as a vehicle for betting. For example, if the Bears were playing the Giants, and it shaped up as a competitive contest, the Bears might be, say, a 7/5 favorite. If they were playing an also-ran, it might be 10/1. Well, there is a point where a line becomes prohibitive, as far as betting the favorite. And who would waste money betting an underdog that has virtually no chance? Such a setup did not contribute to promoting betting action.

But in modern sports betting, a "pointspread" is used.

A NFL pointspreads are exactly that, a pre-established point difference between the two sides that will, for all intents and purposes, create a handicap that evens things out, and in doing so, produces comparable wagering activity on both sides of that proposition. So in lieu of a odds figure in which to bet the team to win outright, the Bears might be a three-point favorite over the New York Giants, and a 17-point favorite over the also-ran. Now that the team that is the underdog can "get" points, there can be equal action on both sides.

In sportsbooks, this is usually done with efficiency by charging the losing bettors 10% extra - in effect, bettors are laying 11/10 on those games. So they are actually betting $110 to win $100. If they lose, they pay the "vig." If they win, they simply collect.

The establishment of the pointspread as the corner stone around which team sports like football can be wagered upon was truly what brought gridiron betting into the stratosphere for online football betting .

Don't believe it? Just take a look at what happens around the Super Bowl.

Stay with us here as we take you through the best in NFL action on a consistent basis, with advice columns as well as handicapping selections. If you're looking for college football betting, that's in our NCAA section, which you can reach by clicking here. And if you're looking for a different kind of football, such as the Canadian Football League, which we'll deal with occasionally, or the Arena Football League, which we really like, you can find it in our Miscellaneous section by clicking

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