05/08/2008 - Boston, MA (Basketball Betting) - Paul Pierce paced a balanced Boston attack with 19 points and six rebounds as the Celtics routed Cleveland, 89-73, in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series.
Kevin Garnett added 13 points and 12 boards for the Celtics, who took a 2-0 series lead with the win.
Ray Allen, who was held scoreless for the first time since February 26, 1997 in the opener of this series, bounced back with 16 points for Boston, which is a perfect 6-0 at home in the postseason.
LeBron James scored 21 points but was just 6-of-24 from the floor for the Cavaliers. The Cavs superstar is now shooting a miserable 8-of-42 in the series.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas netted 19 points on 9-of-12 shooting, while Wally Szczerbiak finished with 13 for Cleveland.
Game 3 of the best-of-seven series is scheduled for Saturday in Cleveland.
The Celtics trailed by as many as 12 points, 21-9, in the first quarter after James deposited a reverse layup with just over three minutes left.
Boston rebounded a bit from there but was still down by seven points, 24-17, after the opening 12 minutes.
The Celtics continued to turn things around early in the second quarter when James took a seat on the bench. Boston used a staunch defense to run off a 13-3 spurt to start the frame and jump in front for the first time. Sam Cassell drained a long pull-up jumper with 5:21 left until intermission to cap the run and give the Celtics a 30-27 edge.
Szczerbiak finally halted the Boston momentum, momentarily, with a three. But the Celtics then rattled off nine straight points, featuring a pair of Garnett slams, to take their biggest lead of the half, 39-30.
Cassell's driving layup at the second quarter buzzer gave Boston a 44-36 lead heading into the locker room.
The Celtics really put things away by opening up the third quarter with a 10-0 burst. Allen fueled the run with a driving layup and a pair of free throws before Pierce finished it with a driving layup of his own to give Boston a commanding 54-36 advantage.
The Cavs managed to close the gap to 12, 56-44, after Szczerbiak and James deposited back-to-back buckets but the Celtics quickly restored order and pushed the lead to 20 with a 10-2 burst. Allen hit Leon Powe under the bucket for an easy slam to highlight the spurt and Boston led 66-46 with 2:38 left in the third.
The Celtics took a more-than-comfortable 70-51 edge into the final frame.
James tried to get things going for the Cavs by opening the fourth quarter with a driving layup but Cleveland just couldn't muster much of a push.
A few minutes later, Allen dropped in a pair of free throws after a Daniel Gibson clear path foul and Boston had its largest lead of the night, 80-56, with 8:57 remaining.
The Celtics coasted to the finish line from there.
Ilgauskas helped Cleveland roar out of the gates with a 10-2 run by making the Cavs' first four shots of the game.
But, any excitement for Cleveland over the quick start was tempered when big man Ben Wallace was forced to leave the contest with bouts of dizziness.
Wallace left with 8:20 left in the first quarter and nearly collapsed after walking toward his bench. The defensive standout was taken to the locker room and never returned.
The Celtics recovered from the slow start when Garnett hit a bank shot and Pierce stroked a three, but Cleveland continued to shoot well early and built its lead up to 12 points, 21-9.
Game Notes
The Celtics bench outscored Cleveland's 34-17...The Cavaliers are 2-3 on the road in this year's playoffs...This is the fourth time these teams have met in the postseason. Boston defeated the Cavaliers in six games, 4-2, in the 1976 East finals, and in four contests, 3-1, in the first round of the 1985 playoffs. Cleveland knocked out the Celtics in seven games in the 1992 East semis...During the regular season, the Celtics and Cavaliers split four contests. Both teams won a pair of games on their home court.
<< Lo Duca, Estrada to go on DL
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Washington Nationals are expected to
place a pair of catchers, Paul Lo Duca and Johnny Estrada, on the 15-day
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Williamsburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mhairi McKay fired an eight-under-par 63
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<< Cavs' Wallace leaves game with dizziness
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Cleveland Cavaliers big man Ben Wallace was
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Boston with bouts of dizziness.
Wallace left early in the first quarter and nea
<< Garcia leads Players Championship by two
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Spain's Sergio Garcia fired a six-
under-par 66 on Thursday to take the first-round lead of The Players
Championship.
Kenny Perry and Paul Goydos both shot rounds of four-under 68 to sha
Gainey, two others share lead in Arkansas >>
Fort Smith, AR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tommy Gainey posted a six-under 64 Thursday
to grab a share of the lead after the opening round of the Fort Smith Classic.
Gainey was joined atop the leaderboard by Matt Weibring and Kris Cox.
There is a
Chicago continues to roll against D.C. United >>
Washington, D.C. (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Justin Mapp and Cuauhtemoc Blanco scored
and Jon Busch posted his fourth shutout as the Chicago Fire beat D.C. United,
2-0, in Major League Soccer on Thursday night.
Chicago improved to 3-0-1 on the roa
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Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tomas Holmstrom posted a goal and an assist, as
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Conference finals series from Joe Louis Arena.
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Youkilis, Beckett lead Boston past Detroit >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kevin Youkilis hit a two-run homer, as Boston
topped Detroit, 5-1, in the finale of a four-game series at Comerica Park.
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MySportsbook.com: NBA Championship Odds
With the playoffs about two months away, the top two teams in the Western Conference are the clear cut leaders to win the NBA Championship. The Dallas Mavericks have the best record in the NBA (44-9) and have been absolutely scorching since the second week of the season. What makes the Mavs’ record more impressive is the fact that they dropped their first four games of the season. Currently they have won 17 out of their last 18 and are MySportsbook.com’s favorite (2-1) to win it all. Right behind the Mavs are the Pacific leading Phoenix Suns (39-13). Last season, the Suns lost in the Conference Finals to non-other then the Mavericks four games to two. Of course the Suns were without center Amare Stoudemire who has is averaging 19.9 PPG and 9.5 RPG since coming back from his knee injury. Unlike the Mavs, the Suns have struggled a bit lately having lost their last three and four out of their last seven. Of course the main reason for their three straight loses is due to the absence of two time MVP Steve Nash, who is out with a shoulder injury. Heads-up, the Mavs have beaten the Suns in both of their meetings this season.
In the Eastern Conference, the Pistons (32-19) are the favorites to win it all at 6-1. The addition of Chris Webber seems to have been a good move for the Pistons. Since coming over from the 76ers, Webber has averaged 13.1 PPG and 7.3 RPG and the Pistons are 11-4. Even though the defending champion Heat are currently on the playoff making cusp, they are the Eastern Conference team that is getting the most action to win it all (9-1). The fact that Shaquille O’Neal is back in the starting lineup after missing 39 games probably has something to do with this. No doubt, Shaq makes a difference when in the lineup as their winning six out of their last seven would indicate.
Just because it is the All-Star break doesn’t mean that you can’t bet on NBA hoops this weekend. Be sure to log onto MySportsbook.com to bet on who you think will cut down the nets this July. Also, be sure to check out all of the lines and props for All-Star weekend. With the highest credit card acceptance rate in the industry, there are plenty of ways to cash in on the NBA this weekend.
MySportsbook.com’s NBA Championship odds:
Atlanta Hawks 1000-1
Boston Celtics 5000-1
Charlotte Bobcats 5000-1
Chicago Bulls 20-1
Cleveland Cavaliers 20-1
Dallas Mavericks 2-1
Denver Nuggets 25-1
Detroit Pistons 6-1
Golden State Warriors 250-1
Houston Rockets 12-1
Indiana Pacers 60-1
Los Angeles Clippers 45-1
Memphis Grizzlies 5000-1
Miami Heat 9-1
Milwaukee Bucks 1000-1
Minnesota T-Wolves 200-1
New Jersey Nets 50-1
New Orleans Hornets 150-1
New York Knicks 150-1
Orlando Magic 75-1
Philadelphia 76ers 1000-1
Phoenix Suns 5-2
Portland TrailBlazers 1000-1
Sacramento Kings 250-1
San Antonio Spurs 9-1
Seattle Sonics 5000-1
Toronto Raptors 35-1
Utah Jazz 20-1
Washington Wizards 25-1
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It's less than a month until the NHL hockey betting season opens at MySportsbook.com and preparations are underway for another battle in the race to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in 2007.
As cup crazy fans prepare to place their bets, one online sportsbook ,MySportsbook.com, is offering hockey betting lines on the 2007/2007 Stanley Cup , who will bring it home this upcoming season.
Despite a poor showing in last season's playoffs and the loss of Steve Yzerman to retirement, the Detroit Red Wings are early favourites at this online sportsbook with wagering odds of 6-1. The Wings will look to offensive powerhouse Pavel Datsyuk and newly appointed captain Nicklas Lidstrom to lead one of the league's most prominent franchises.
Always a threat are the Ottawa Senators, with newly acquired goaltender Martin Gerber from the Stanley Cup champion ,Carolina Hurricanes. The Sens are second best in the rankings at a 7-1 bet, and odds makers at this sportsbook are optimistic that the Ottawa squad will fare better than last season's Eastern Conference semi-final upset to the Buffalo Sabres.
Also worth noting are the defending Stanley Cup champs Carolina Hurricanes, a 10-1 bet to repeat. Behind the Canes are the New Jersey Devils, Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Philadelphia Flyers, and Anaheim Mighty Ducks all sit at 12-1. In the basement are the Washington Capitals, Chicago Blackhawks, and St. Louis Blues who all have 100-1 odds to win.
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your hockey betting needs.
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