Anderson's 3 lifts Magic over Bucks

Basketball Betting Lines

02/20/2012 - Milwaukee, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quiet for most of the night, Ryan Anderson knocked down the go-ahead three-pointer with 18.1 seconds remaining and the Orlando Magic edged the Milwaukee Bucks, 93-90, on Monday.

Down by three, Milwaukee elected not to go for the tie with 5.1 seconds left and Larry Sanders missed an easy layup after breaking free in the paint. The loose ball was batted around and time ran out on the Bucks.

Dwight Howard had a huge night with 28 points and 16 rebounds while Jameer Nelson chipped in 15 points and five assists for the Magic, who have won all three games against the Bucks this season. Orlando has won five of its last six overall.

Anderson had nine points and 11 rebounds in the win.

Ersan Ilyasova scored 15 points with 15 rebounds for the Bucks, who have lost five of their last six games. Sanders finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

A 6-0 flurry by the visitors late in the final stanza gave the Magic an 87-86 advantage with 1:23 to play.

Anderson made 1-of-2 from the line, Hedo Turkoglu nailed a step-back jumper from the baseline and J.J. Redick gave the Magic the advantage with a three- pointer from the top of the arc.

Sanders' layup underneath the basket gave the Bucks the lead right back on their ensuing possession, but Howard tied the game at 88 after splitting a pair of foul shots.

With 31.2 seconds to play, Brandon Jennings got his tough floater to fall to give the Bucks a 90-88 margin.

But Anderson had the answer.

Redick initially missed a runner, but Nelson picked up the offensive rebound and dished to Anderson at the top of the arc and he nailed the wide-open trey.

After Jennings lost the ball out-of-bounds at the other end, Nelson made a pair of free throws to make it 93-90 with 10.8 left.

The Bucks scored 13 points off turnovers in the opening quarter and took a 29-27 lead into the second. Orlando made four of its nine attempts from beyond the arc, but turned the ball over six times.

The Magic held the Bucks to just 27.3 percent from the field in the second frame as the visitors took a slim 49-48 advantage into the locker room. Howard had 17 points and nine rebounds to pace Orlando in the opening half.

The contest remained tight in the third as Milwaukee took a 70-67 lead into the final quarter.

Game Notes

The Magic are 9-6 away from home this season...The Bucks have lost six straight home games...Milwaukee made 5-of-22 from beyond the arc while Orlando was 8-of-22 from three-point range...Jennings led the Bucks with 22 points.

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Betting Football

NFL Football Betting Online

Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?

I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.

Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.

There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.

Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.

For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.

A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.

The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.

Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.

So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.

Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.

“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.

Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.

“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.

It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.

Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.

The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.

“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.

“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”

Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.

The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.

“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”

Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?

“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”

Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.