11/16/2008 - Sacramento, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tim Duncan finished with 20 points, which included the game's final two baskets, as the San Antonio Spurs held on for a 90-88 win over the Sacramento Kings.
Duncan also had 10 rebounds, while Michael Finley scored 21 for San Antonio, which has won two in a row. Roger Mason added 18 points in the win for the Spurs, who hadn't won two games in a row this season entering Sunday's matchup.
John Salmons led the way with 31 points for the Kings, who have lost two in a row. Beno Udrih had 16 points for Sacramento, while Brad Miller added 10 points and eight rebounds, but missed the potential game-tying shot late in the game.
In a back-and-forth fourth quarter, a Salmons jumper with about 2 1/2 minutes left gave the Kings an 86-84 edge. After a minute passed, Duncan drew a foul, leading to a Finley basket to tie the game.
Udrih was then fouled on a cutting layup attempt with 1:11 on the clock, and made both to put Sacramento back in front. Duncan, though, answered by making a smooth one-handed shot close to the basket, and the Kings called a timeout with 46.5 ticks remaining.
Sacramento missed on its next possession, and Duncan grabbed the rebound, then made a layup on the other end for the 90-88 Spurs lead with less than 15 seconds left.
Miller got the ball on the ensuing Kings possession, but missed badly on his shot from the right side. Duncan grabbed the rebound and was immediately fouled, but missed both shots. Miller got the rebound off the second miss, giving the Kings one last chance, but Quincy Douby's desperation three missed the rim completely, sealing the Spurs' win.
The Spurs struggled offensively in the first quarter, and trailed 23-15 going into the second, where they stormed back to take a 43-42 lead at halftime. The Kings had a double-digit lead in the third quarter, but the Spurs closed out the stanza with an 8-2 run -- ending in a pair of Jacque Vaughn free throws that pulled San Antonio within 72-68 headed into the fourth.
Game Notes
Douby had 12 points in defeat for Sacramento...Vaughn had 10 points for the Spurs, while Matt Bonner finished with 11 and seven boards...Kings guard Kevin Martin has missed the past four games with an ankle injury.
<< Hiller helps Ducks blank Kings
Anaheim, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jonas Hiller made 29 saves to notch his first
career shutout, as the Anaheim Ducks posted a 2-0 win over the Los Angeles
Kings.
Corey Perry and Bret Hedican tallied for Anaheim, which snapped a three-ga
<< Billups helps Nuggets send T'Wolves to eighth straight loss
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The acquisition of Chauncey Billups continues
to pay early dividends for the Nuggets, as the guard scored a game-high 26
points, including a critical three-pointer in crunch time, to seal Denver's
90-84 v
<< Stoudemire leads Suns over Pistons
Phoenix, AZ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Amare Stoudemire scored 29 points and grabbed
11 rebounds to lead the Phoenix Suns in a 104-86 victory over the Detroit
Pistons.
Steve Nash chipped in 17 points and seven assists for the Suns, who have
<< Sharks notch wild win over Hawks
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dan Boyle scored twice, and Devin Setoguchi
netted the deciding goal late in the third period to give the San Jose Sharks
a wild, 6-5 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Joe Thornton added a goal and assist,
Singler, Duke survive scare from Rhode Island >>
Durham, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Singler scored 21 points and made the go-
ahead free throws with 19.4 seconds remaining in the game, as eighth-ranked
Duke got a scare but came back to edge Rhode Island 82-79, at Cameron Indoor
Stadium
Struggling Thunder host Rockets >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Winning hasn't come easy this season for the Oklahoma City
Thunder, who hope an upcoming homestand will produce some victories. Tonight
they will kick off the residency versus the Houston Rockets at the Ford
Center.
Oklah
Spurs try to reach .500 against woeful Clippers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After opening the season with three straight losses, the
San Antonio Spurs seem to have gotten their act together. They will shoot for
a season high three straight wins tonight against the lowly Los Angeles
Clippers at Staple
Suns visit Salt Lake City to face slumping Jazz >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The injury-riddled Utah Jazz are back at home for two
straight games, starting with Monday's tilt versus the Phoenix Suns at
EnergySolutions Arena.
Utah opened the 2008-09 season with five straight wins, then went 1-4 on a
The Indianapolis Colts know that winning the Super Bowl last season put a huge target on their backs, and they expect opponents to go all-out to knock them from the top of the mountain.
They’ll get their first test from the New Orleans Saints this Thursday night. The defending champs had nothing but good things to say about the New Orleans defense this past week, praising their opponents’ pass rush and run-stopping abilities.
"They play very aggressively," head coach Tony Dungy told the New Orleans Times-Picayune. "They play a lot of man-to-man coverage, and they come after you. They have good pass rushers, and they're going to try to pressure us, I'm sure."
Both center Jeff Saturday and quarterback Peyton Manning gave New Orleans’ front four props, admitting keeping guys like Will Smithand Charles Grant contained would be a tall task for the offensive line.
New Orleans ranked second in total defense during the preseason at a sportsbook, allowing just under 233 yards per game. Last season, the defense finished 11th in the league after giving up 307.3 yards and 20.1 points per contest.
Not so sound on the ground
If Indianapolis' efficient offense has a weakness it has to be its running attack. The Colts one-two-punch of Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai is no longer, leaving the bulk of the carries to Addai, the second-year back out of LSU.
Former Saskatchewan Roughrider Kenton Keith was named Addai’s backup this week after beating out DeDe Dorsey for the second-string position. Indy has only three backs on the roster right now, including fullback Luke Lawton, and coach Dungy is aware of the thinness of his ground game. Sports Betting lines on the game can be found at BettingExpress.com
“We’ll continue to look. Luke Lawton’s done a good job for us too. So probably getting a third true tailback is something that we’d like to do,” Dungy told the Indiana Tribune-Star.
Last season, Addai rushed for over 1,000 yards in his rookie campaign and scored seven touchdowns on the ground.
Brees says bring it on
Opening the season on the road against the defending Super Bowl champions is not the way most teams would like to kick off their year – unless you’re the New Orleans Saints or their quarterback Drew Brees. This internet Sportsbooks had the Saints as the favorites.
Brees told the New Orleans Times-Picayune that he is excited to get the regular season started and the Colts are a great challenge for him and his teammates. The 28-year-old QB, entering his second season with the Saints, is expecting a wild environment in the RCA Dome this Thursday when the franchise celebrates its 2007-2007 championship.
Brees said he sees the opening game scheduling as an honor and a testament to how well New Orleans did last season. The Saints missed facing the Colts in the Super Bowl by one game, losing to the Chicago Bearsin the NFC Championship game.
"I mean, people think we can hang with these guys," Brees told reporters. "Even if they didn't, it wouldn't matter what they thought because as a team we're very confident. We know what we can do. We're not satisfied where we finished the season last year. And we've been looking forward to this opportunity for a long time."
SportsBooks ready for a shootout
Oddsmakers are preparing for some fireworks this Thursday when the NFL season kicks off. online Sportsbooks have Thursday’s total set at a whopping 52 points, accounting for two of the league’s most explosive offenses.
“This is like must-see TV,” Saints cornerback and former Colt Jason David told the Baton Rouge Advocate. “It’s two exciting offenses with great players. You’ve got a lot of star power on offense. At any given time a big play can happen. If I was a fan, I wouldn’t miss a snap.”
New Orleans, who ranked No.1 in total offense last season, can go blow-for-blow with the Colts’ attack. Head coach Sean Payton’s offensive schemes will get even better production out of Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and receiver Marques Colston now that they’ve each had a season of playing together under their belts.
The Saints and Colts were the top two passing teams in the NFL last year, but while Indianapolis managed to put up almost 27 points per game, New Orleans struggled to capitalize on their efforts. The Saints ranked fifth in points per game.
“Yards are great,” running backDeuce McAllister told reporters, “but to be able to score more touchdowns would be important for us.”
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