Marion leads Mavs to 12th straight victory

Basketball Betting Lines

03/08/2010 - Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shawn Marion posted 29 points to go with 14 rebounds, pacing the Mavericks to their 12th straight victory in a 125-112 decision over the lowly Timberwolves.

Dirk Nowitzki and Caron Butler added 24 and 23 points, respectively, for Dallas, which is in the midst of its longest winning streak in three seasons.

Jason Kidd ended with 12 points and 10 assists for the victors.

Minnesota's Al Jefferson returned for a two-game suspension for a suspected DWI and scored 36 points on 16-of-21 shooting while pulling down 13 rebounds. Ryan Hollins had 13 points and nine boards before being ejected late in the game for Minnesota, which has dropped six straight overall and ninth straight at the Target Center against the Mavs.

Minnesota actually got out to a fast start, as Jefferson scored 11 points in the first five minutes, hitting a turnaround jumper for a 19-9 lead.

The Mavs countered with a 23-4 flurry over the next five minutes to take control. Marion had 10 points during the stretch, and Dallas led 34-27 at the first-quarter buzzer.

It was a double-digit game for most of the second quarter, and Dallas' 71-61 lead at halftime fell to seven, 77-70, following a Hollins dunk near the nine- minute mark of the third.

Again the visitors had an answer, scoring 12 of the next 13 points, as a Nowitzki bucket yielded an 89-71 lead midway through the frame.

Dallas owned a 97-84 advantage with 12 minutes to play, and the closest the T'Wolves got in the fourth was 10.

Down 112-102 with under four minutes left, Hollins caught Nowitzki with an elbow going after a rebound and was subsequently ejected. Earlier in the game, he got away with a similar forearm to the face of DeShawn Stevenson.

Nowitzki, who earlier in the day was awarded the Player of the Week in the Western Conference for the period ending March 7, hit the ensuing four free throws and the Mavs cruised from there.

Game Notes

The last time the Mavs tasted defeat was on February 16 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. They are on their longest win streak since a franchise-best 17- game run from January 27-March 11, 2007...Rodrigue Beaubois ended with 11 points for the Mavs, who made half of their 96 field goal attempts...Jonny Flynn posted 13 points and eight assists for Minnesota, which won the battle on the glass, 54-39.

Gambleling Basketball Betting News

<< Siena captures third straight MAA title
Albany, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edwin Ubiles recorded a game-high 27 points along with seven rebounds to help the Sienna Saints past the Fairfield Stags in overtime, 72-65, to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament Champio

<< Turco, Stars snap Capitals' home streak in SO
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Loui Eriksson scored in the fifth round of the shootout and Marty Turco stopped a career-high 49 shots as Dallas rallied in the third and ended Washington's 13-game home-winning streak with a 4-3 win at Veri

<< Raiders release injury-prone Walker; Ellis let go as well
Alameda, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Oakland Raiders released wide receiver Javon Walker on Monday, as well as veteran defensive end Greg Ellis. Walker inked a six-year, $55-million contract with Oakland prior to the 2008 campaign but

<< Old Dominion takes down William & Mary for CAA title
Richmond, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - James Darius scored 12 points and Kent Bazemore added 10 points and five assists, as Old Dominion held on to claim the Colonial Athletic Association tournament title with a 60-53 win over William

<< Cavs edge Spurs without LeBron
Cleveland, OH (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mo Williams had 17 points, eight rebounds and eight assists, as the Cleveland Cavaliers edged the San Antonio Spurs, 97-95, in a matchup between shorthanded teams. The Cavaliers rested LeBron James for a se

Nets still searching for winning streak, fall to Grizzlies >>
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rudy Gay and Mike Conley each scored 21 points to push the Memphis Grizzlies past the New Jersey Nets, 107-101, at the FedEx Forum. Gay grabbed 10 rebounds, while Marc Gasol also tallied a double-double wi

Gallinari and Knicks squeak past Atlanta >>
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Danilo Gallinari made four three-pointers and finished with a game-high 27 points, as the New York Knicks escaped with a 99-98 win over the Atlanta Hawks at Madison Square Garden. David Lee contributed a

Hornets hold off Warriors >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David West and Marcus Thornton each scored 28 points, as the New Orleans Hornets held on for a 135-131 win over the Golden State Warriors. Rookie Darren Collison finished with 16 points and a caree

Siena captures third straight MAAC title >>
Albany, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Edwin Ubiles recorded a game-high 27 points along with seven rebounds to help the Siena Saints past the Fairfield Stags in overtime, 72-65, to win the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament Champio

St. Mary's upsets No. 18 Gonzaga for WCC title >>
Las Vegas, NV (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mickey McConnell and Ben Allen each hit four three-pointers to key the Gaels' terrific shooting effort, as St. Mary's downed No. 18 Gonzaga, 81-62, to capture the West Coast Conference Tournament title.

American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout

An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.

Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off.  Randy was not impressed though.  Paula thought he started off fantastic.  "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either. 

Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed.  Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact.  He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition. 

Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula.  Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.

Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next.  Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential.  Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell.  He sang "Careless Whisper".

22 year old Chris Richardson was up next.  He was listed with +1100 odds coming in.  He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great. 

Nick was boring and pitchy.  Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week.  Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition. 

Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds .  These of course were the early odds.  He was considered original for picking an "odd song".  He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night. 

Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good. 

Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds.  Great voice and a great sense of humor.  He's a real standout.  Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit.  Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig". 

Jared Cotter followed.  He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition.  The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good. 

22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next.  "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon.  Though the judges felt he performed okay.  Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.

Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition.  He was the last to perform.  He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start. 

Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys.  Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com - this sportsbook accepts credit cards.