Thunder return home to face Hornets
Basketball Betting Lines
03/10/2010 -
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the Oklahoma City Thunder seem to be well on their
way towards ending a playoff drought, the New Orleans Hornets enter tonight's
showdown between these teams in danger of missing out of the postseason fray.
The injury-plagued Hornets head to the Ford Center, their one-time temporary
home when displaced by Hurricane Katrina a few years back, in 11th place in
the competitive Western Conference and five games behind Portland for the
eighth and final playoff seed. A recent four-game losing streak has hurt the
club's postseason chances, although New Orleans was able to end that slide
with Monday's 135-131 triumph over visiting Golden State.
David West and Marcus Thornton each scored 28 points to pace the Hornets,
while Darren Collison dished out a career-best 20 assists to go along with 16
points. The rookie's assist total tied Phoenix's Steve Nash for the most by an
individual in the NBA this season.
West added 13 rebounds on the night, while Emeka Okafor also notched a double-
double with 22 points and 11 boards. The Hornets outrebounded the Warriors by
a 44-23 margin for the game in addition to shooting just under 59 percent from
the field.
Peja Stojakovic scored 16 points for New Orleans before exiting in the third
quarter with a strained groin. The veteran forward's status for tonight's
matchup is uncertain.
In a tight game down the stretch, Golden State held a 123-121 lead with three
minutes left before the Hornets ran off nine consecutive points. Thornton
ended the rally with three layups as New Orleans took a seven-point advantage
with 1:23 to play.
Golden State closed within one on back-to-back three-pointers from Stephen
Curry, the second coming with 30.7 seconds remaining, but Collison sank a
floater on the ensuing possession as the Hornets held on.
"We just wanted to execute down the stretch," Collison said. "We haven't been
doing that down the stretch the last parts of the games we've been losing. It
was important we get a good look at it."
While the Hornets have been struggling as of late, the Thunder have posted a
sensational 14-3 record since January 29 to move into sixth place in the West
standings, just a half-game back of fifth-seeded Phoenix. Oklahoma City has
been especially tough at home during that span, having won seven of eight
tilts at the Ford Center.
One of the Thunder's victories during its current strong stretch came against
the Hornets in New Orleans back on February 3. That snapped a 10-game losing
streak for Oklahoma City in this series, though, and the Hornets have
prevailed in their last four matchups as the visitor versus the Thunder/Sonics
franchise.
Oklahoma City returns home after completing a three-game road trip with
Sunday's 108-102 verdict over Sacramento, with Kevin Durant amassing 27 points
and eight rebounds to lead the way.
Russell Westbrook added 21 points and eight boards in the victory, the
Thunder's fifth in its last six games, with rookie James Harden contributing
14 points off the bench.
Oklahoma City, which is 19-11 at the Ford Center this season, began its recent
swing with a loss at Denver on March 3 before bouncing back with Friday's
104-87 win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
<< Nuggets visit Wolves without Karl
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Without their head coach patrolling the sidelines, the
Denver Nuggets will start up a four-game road trip tonight against a Minnesota
Timberwolves team hoping to end a string of six straight losses when it takes
the Target Ce
<< Grizzlies take road winning streak to Boston
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Memphis Grizzlies will attempt to keep the longest road
winning streak in franchise history intact when they visit a place they've
historically struggled over the years, Boston's TD Garden, for tonight's
matchup with the
<< Montana and Weber State duke it out for Big Sky title
Ogden, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A trip to the NCAA Tournament is on the line
tonight, as the Weber State Wildcats and the Montana Grizzlies do battle in
the championship game of the 35th annual Big Sky Conference Tournament at the
Dee Events Cente
<< Hoyas and Bulls collide in Big East Tourney
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Big East Tournament continues today, as
the ninth-seeded South Florida Bulldogs tussle with the 22nd-ranked and
eighth-seeded Georgetown Hoyas in second-round action at Madison Square
Garden. The winner of th
<< Robert Morris battles Quinnipiac for NEC crown
Hamden, CT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The top-seeded Quinnipiac Bobcats and the
second-seeded Robert Morris Colonials are set to collide in the championship
game of the 2010 Northeast Conference Tournament, and the winner will receive
an automatic bid
Raptors make a stop in Sacramento >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The reeling Toronto Raptors aim to right the ship tonight
as they resume a four-game western road trip against the Sacramento Kings.
The Raptors are now fighting for their playoff lives after dropping the opener
of thei
Devils return home for battle with rival Rangers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Three straight road games out west following the Olympic
break seemed to have caught up with the Devils in their most recent contest.
New Jersey now returns home for the first time in nearly a month this evening
when it pl
Mavs aim to push win streak to 13 vs. Nets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NBA's worst team takes on its hottest when the New
Jersey Nets meet the Dallas Mavericks in Big D tonight.
Despite playing short-handed the Mavs earned their 12th straight victory on
Monday in Minneapolis whe
Columbus ties Toluca in Champions League >>
Columbus, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Columbus Crew earned a hard-fought 2-2
draw with Mexican power Toluca in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions
League quarterfinal series in Columbus on Tuesday night.
Steven Lenhart scored tw
Kings visit Blackhawks for clash between West powers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two of the Western Conference's best teams will meet
tonight in the Windy City as the Chicago Blackhawks host the Los Angeles Kings
at United Center.
The Blackhawks are first in the Central Division and second in the West
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Mayweather picked to beat De La Hoya
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- Golden Boy Oscar De La Hoya and his rival Floyd Mayweather Jr. arrived at the MGM Grand here Wednesday amid the pomp and pandemonium befitting two of the biggest stars in the sport who are about to duke it out for the WBC super welterweight crown this Saturday (Sunday in Manila).
As of Wednesday, MySportsbook.com closed its book with Mayweather a favorite to defeat De La Hoya at -170 (a $100 bet wins $70), while De La Hoya is a +140 underdog (a $100 bet wins $140).
Mayweather arrived at about 11:30 a.m. on a big truck with his face and a big "World's Best Pound-for-Pound" sign scribbled across the vehicle. He was accompanied by his entourage made up of rappers and his training team.
A crowd of close to 3,000 eager fans packed the MGM Grand lobby, with their cameras in tow, all trying to vie for position to get a good angle at Mayweather, who is acknowledged as the world's best fighter pound-for-pound.
Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions vice-president, described the fan turnout as "amazing" and swore he had never seen anything quite like this event.
"The crowd was fantastic. Everybody was just too eager to see the two fighters," said ALA manager Michael Aldeguer, who was among those who waited at the lobby together with his ward Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista and AJ Banal.
De La Hoya made his own grand entrance at the hotel lobby at around 12:30 p.m. accompanied by GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer and trainer Freddie Roach.
The same group of fans who trooped to see Mayweather also lingered around to get a close look at De La Hoya, who has been secretly working out at a Las Vegas gym for days after arriving from his main training camp in Puerto Rico.
The golden boy then took part in a closed-door afternoon workout with Bautista and Banal. The two, along with Aldeguer and wife Christine, as well as an HBO crew were the only ones allowed inside the gym.
De La Hoya and Mayweather take part in today's final press conference before the official weigh-in this Friday.
Ring Magazine, the acknowledged bible of boxing, reported in its June 2007 issue that 12 out of 20 boxing experts it interviewed have favored Mayweather to defeat De la Hoya, with only 8 favoring the latter.
But Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao said in a recent interview with The Freeman's Emmanuel Villaruel that De La Hoya will win by unanimous decision over Mayweather.
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