05/12/2008 - (Basketball Betting) - The Cleveland Cavaliers attempt to knot their Eastern Conference semifinal series at two games apiece with the Boston Celtics tonight at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Cavaliers made it a 2-1 series with a big victory on Saturday at home. Superstar LeBron James and Delonte West both scored 21 points, as the fourth- seeded Cavaliers dominated the top-seeded Celtics, 108-84, in Game 3 of the set.
James was shut down in the first two games of the series, shooting just 8- of-42 from the field, but rebounded to shoot 3-of-5 from three-point range and 5-of-16 overall. James added eight assists, while West finished 7-for-11 from the field overall -- 4-of-6 from beyond the arc -- and handed out seven assists.
Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas ended with 12 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the victory, while veteran Joe Smith added 17 points off the bench.
Kevin Garnett had 17 points and nine rebounds for Boston, which came out slow and couldn't recover. Paul Pierce contributed 14 points, while Kendrick Perkins collected 12 points and seven boards.
The Cavaliers have won a best-of-seven series after losing Games 1 and 2. Cleveland defeated the Detroit Pistons in the 2007 East finals after dropping the first two games of the set at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Cleveland has won five of its last six Game 4s in the postseason. The Cavaliers are 3-1 at home in this year's playoffs.
The Celtics are 0-4 on the road in this year's postseason. Boston has dropped three of its last four Game 4s in the playoffs.
Game 5 of this best-of-seven series is scheduled for Wednesday at TD Banknorth Garden.
Boston has lost a playoff series after winning the first two games of the set. In the 1990 first round, the New York Knicks knocked out the Celtics in five contests, 3-2.
This is the fourth time these teams have met in the postseason. Boston defeated the Cavaliers in six games, 4-2, in the 1976 East finals, and in four contests, 3-1, in the first round of the 1985 playoffs. Cleveland knocked out the Celtics in seven games in the 1992 East semis.
Boston has made it to the East semis for the first time since 2003. That year, the Celtics were swept by the New Jersey Nets, 4-0. The last time the Celtics won in this round was in 2002 when they knocked out Detroit in five, 4-1, before losing to the Nets in the East finals, 4-2.
The Celtics survived a scare in the opening round, as they knocked out the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in seven games. The home team won every game in the series. Boston won its four contests by an average of 25.3 points.
The Cavaliers, who are the defending Eastern Conference champions and knocked out the Wizards in round one, are 3-2 all-time in the semifinals. They defeated the Washington Bullets in 1976, Boston in 1992 and New Jersey in 2007. Cleveland lost in the semis to Chicago in 1993 and Detroit in 2006.
<< Hernandez tries to continue hot start in finale with Red Sox
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - With the opportunity to achieve a series win over the
defending world champions, the Minnesota Twins will send out their newfound
ace in tonight's finale of a four-game set with the visiting Boston Red Sox.
Livan Hernandez
<< Jays, Tribe play doubleheader in Cleveland
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - After getting an unscheduled day off due to bad weather,
the Cleveland Indians and Toronto Blue Jays conclude a four-game series today
with a doubleheader from Progressive Field.
The Indians have won the first two tests o
<< Oswalt, Zito square off at AT&T Park
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The National League's hottest team during the month of May
invades San Francisco's AT&T Park for the opener of a four-game series, as the
Houston Astros attempt to keep up their torrid stretch in tonight's matchup
with t
<< Uggla leads Marlins to sweep of Nationals
Dan Uggla and the Florida Marlins will sure be sorry to have to leave Washington. Who can blame them? They've been there twice this season and haven't lost yet.Uggla hit two homers Sunday to help the Marlins complete another three-game sweep of the
Red-hot Marlins take streak into Cincinnati >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The surging Florida Marlins will try to extend their
season-high winning streak to eight games tonight, when they open a four-game
series against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park.
The NL East-leadin
Cubs try to keep momentum going as Padres pay visit >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Cubs enter a four-game set with a chip on their
shoulders, as they are coming off an impressive sweep of the Arizona
Diamondbacks. Tonight, the club will welcome the San Diego Padres to town for
the ser
Brewers to wrap up series with slumping Cards >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Milwaukee Brewers seem to have found their winning ways
as they wrap up a four-game series versus the NL Central-rival St. Louis
Cardinals tonight at Miller Park.
The Brewers have won two of the first three matc
Rays try to extend home winning streak vs. Yankees >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Tampa Bay Rays try to extend their franchise-record
home-winning streak to 10 games this evening when they start a four-game
series with the New York Yankees at Tropicana Field.
Extending the streak may be
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Elite 8 NCAA Tournament Betting at online sportsbook MySportsbook.com
In what should be an outstanding Saturday of March Madness betting action, the top four teams in the South and West Regions square off in what should be extremely close match-ups. Three of the four teams are coming off extremely close games on Thursday evening, only UCLA won semi comfortably over Pitt 64-55.
Ohio State is coming off their second game in a row where in all reality they should have lost. Of course that doesn’t matter now since the name of the game is “survive and advance” but as the tournament continues, they can’t afford to keep getting down to their opponents early. Kansas also avoided a scare by holding off a scrappy Southern Illinois squad. In the third thrilling game of the evening Memphis pulled off the minor upset (+3.5) despite being the higher seed to Texas A&M.
Although the spreads are fairly small for Saturday’s games, MySportsbook.com continue to bet against the underdogs. Despite OSU’s two scares, 86% of the “betting public” feels the Buckeyes (-1.5) have what it takes to make the Final Four. In fact, so much of the early money is on OSU that the line has already moved from -1 to -1.5. In the second game of the doubleheader, Kansas and their high-powered offense are 2 point favorites as they take on UCLA and their effective defense. About 63% of the early money thus far is once again backing the favorites. If those percentages stay that high, don’t be surprised if this line moves as well. If you like Kansas (-2) you might want to jump on it early.
Memphis vs. Ohio State
Both squads were involved in thrillers on Thursday evening and should come out fired up. OSU can ill afford to get behind early like they did versus their previous two opponents (Xavier, Tennessee). Greg Oden needs to stay out of foul trouble; the Buckeyes are a completely different team when he is on the court. Memphis definitely has the athleticism and length to match-up with OSU. Of Memphis’ five leading minute earners, the shortest of the bunch is 6’5”. Each team has a very effective defense; Memphis surrenders 62.3 PPG whereas the Buckeyes give up only 61 PPG. With those type of numbers, it isn’t surprising that Memphis covered the UNDER almost 69% of the time this season. As a favorite, OSU has covered the UNDER almost 66% of the time over the last three seasons. The major concern for Memphis which is magnifies this time of the year is their brutal foul shooting (62%). This season, OSU is 17-11 ATS versus teams with a winning record and 7-2 ATS in all tournament games. Memphis has been an extremely reliable cover in tournament play in recent years with a 23-8 ATS record over the last three seasons.
UCLA vs. Kansas
In the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader, UCLA will play in a role which they are very unfamiliar with that of the underdog. Only twice this season have they been getting points from the handicappers and both times they covered. Over the last three seasons UCLA is a reliable 23-7 ATS in this unfamiliar role. UCLA has not fared well against Big 12 opponents recently going 1-7 ATS since 1997. Giving up only 59.6 PPG, UCLA will definitely look to do what they do best: keep this game as low scoring as possible. Their defense has been especially tough during the tournament. UCLA opponents have been able to muster up only 48.7 PPG while shooting a combined 34.5% from the field. UCLA definitely has a challenge at hand with a Kansas team that is capable of putting points on the board in bunches. As a team, they average 79 PPG and shoot an impressive 49.6% from the field and 39.4% from beyond the arc. During the tournament Kansas has been “lights out” from the field having shot 56.2%.
With Friday -105 juice on Basketball betting, MySportsbook.com is the place to bet on all of the “March Madness” action. Don’t forget to monitor who the public is backing at MySportsbook.com’s “Betting Trends”. By doing so, you have the best chance of predicting a possible line change, thus getting the best value for your wager.
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