Rockets hand 76ers a 5th straight loss

Basketball Betting Lines

02/22/2012 - Houston, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Houston's Luis Scola had 19 points and 10 rebounds in Wednesday's 93-87 win over the 76ers.

Kevin Martin scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter and Kyle Lowry finished with 13 for the Rockets, who enter the All-Star break on a three-game win streak.

Philadelphia, meanwhile, saw its season-long losing streak reach five games.

The shorthanded 76ers, playing without forward Elton Brand and center Spencer Hawes, were led by rookie Nikola Vucevic's career-high 18 points. Lou Williams chipped in 17, Thaddeus Young had 15 and Jodie Meeks added 14.

Jrue Holiday's layup had Philadelphia up, 84-83, with two minutes to go, but Lowry responded with a three-point play to put the Rockets on top for good.

Williams' free throw pulled the 76ers within one, 86-85, but Young was called for a charge after Vucevic blocked Scola.

Lowry then struck again, driving hard, making a bank layup and drawing a foul on Young. The subsequent free throw made it 89-85 with under a minute to go.

Philadelphia followed with another gaffe, as Williams turned the corner on an elbow pick but fell out of bounds with the ball. Lowry's fadeaway jumper was off at the other end, but Young knocked the loose ball out of bounds with 25 seconds left and Martin and Courtney Lee closed with a pair of free throws apiece to seal the win.

The Rockets led 19-16 after one and 45-41 at the break before Chandler Parsons and Scola opened the third with back-to-back buckets for a 49-41 advantage.

The 76ers responded with a 15-5 run to grab their first lead since early in the first.

Williams began the burst with a three-point play and Meeks capped it with two- handed dunk for a 56-54 edge.

Later in the quarter, Scola's layup put the Rockets up, 60-59, but Philadelphia finished with baskets from Vucevic, Meeks and Young for a 65-61 advantage after three.

Houston opened the fourth with a layup from Patrick Patterson and a short jumper from Martin to tie the game at 65 and spark the back-and-forth finish.

Game Notes

Philadelphia hasn't scored 100 points in any of its past 17 games...The Rockets improved to 14-4 at the Toyota Center this season while the 76ers fell to 7-8 on the road...Philadelphia had won its previous four trips to Houston.

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Super Bowl 2009 Betting

Super Bowl 2009 Betting propositions

Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.

Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.

Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.

If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.

Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.

By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.

In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.

So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.

While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.

There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.

In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:

SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.

XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.

XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.

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