Butler returns to Dallas, but Mavs snag win

Basketball Betting Lines

02/14/2012 - Dallas, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Caron Butler was welcomed by a standing ovation when he accepted his NBA championship ring Monday night, but the Clippers forward received a bigger hand from the American Airlines Center crowd when he missed a potential go-ahead three-pointer in the final seconds.

The errant try allowed the Mavericks to secure a 96-92 win behind five double- digit scorers and stifling defense in the fourth quarter.

Dirk Nowitzki led the way with 22 points, while Shawn Marion added 16 points in Dallas' fourth straight win.

"We held it together and kept our poise. ...It was defense that got us over the hump," Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle said. "I'm real proud of our guys because this was a very tough game."

Butler finished with 23 points and eight rebounds, and Blake Griffin added 20 points and seven boards for Los Angeles, which finished up a 4-2 road trip.

The Clippers committed nine turnovers in the final frame and went scoreless for nearly five minutes. They were on top 83-79 following a pair of Chris Paul free throws with 7:03 remaining before the cold stretch began.

Griffin missed seven consecutive free throws before finally hitting one with 2:15 remaining to end Dallas' 7-0 run.

Jason Kidd found Jason Terry underneath for an easy layup at the other end to extend Dallas' lead to 88-84, and Nowitzki added two free throws following a Griffin turnover.

Griffin ended LA's seven-minute field goal drought with a dunk while being fouled and made the free throw to cut the deficit to three.

Kenyon Martin made it 90-89 on a driving bucket with one minute remaining, but Nowitzki answered with a rainbow jumper and two free throws.

Paul followed with a three-pointer with 17.8 seconds showing, then stole Kidd's inbounds pass before setting up Butler on the right side.

Butler was 5-of-9 from long distance before hitting all iron as time wound down. Delonte West corralled the rebound and sank two free throws to clinch the victory.

"I got my feet up under me, followed through, it was a routine shot, just fell a little short. It would have been a great ending to the game," Butler said of his attempt.

Brendan Haywood scored all 10 of his points in the first quarter, carrying the Mavs to a 27-19 lead they did not relinquish until the third frame.

An evenly-played second ended with Dallas holding a 55-47 advantage, and the Clippers reeled off a 12-2 run midway through the third to take a 67-64 lead. LA led 76-74 entering the fourth.

Game Notes

Butler did not play for Dallas in the playoffs last season after suffering a knee injury in January...Paul logged 16 points and nine assists...Vince Carter and West each netted 10 points for the Mavs, who scored 22 points off 21 turnovers...LA won the battle on the glass, 50-36...The Clippers snapped a 10- game losing streak to Dallas last month. These teams meet again in Dallas on April 2. The Clippers have lost 10 straight in Dallas, last tasting victory there on April 19, 2006.

Wwwusacasino Basketball Betting News

<< No. 2 Connecticut thumps Oklahoma
Norman, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tiffany Hayes poured in a game-high 23 points to go with six rebounds, seven assists and three steals as second-ranked Connecticut easily took down Oklahoma, 73-55, on Monday. Bria Hartley had 20 poin

<< Arnold's OT strike gives BC Beanpot title
Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bill Arnold's tally with 6.4 seconds remaining in overtime sent Boston College to a 3-2 victory over Boston University to claim the championship of the 60th annual Beanpot at TD Garden. Arnold accepted a

<< No. 4 Kansas tops Kansas State
Manhattan, KS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Tyshawn Taylor totaled 20 points, five rebounds and five assists as No. 4 Kansas got past Kansas State, 59-53, at Bramlage Coliseum. Jeff Withey added 18 points with 11 rebounds for the Jayhawk

<< Pavelski picks up 4 points as Sharks top Caps
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joe Pavelski totaled four points on two goals and two assists as San Jose dealt Washington a 5-3 defeat at Verizon Center. Patrick Marleau contributed a pair of goals and Brent Burns also scored

<< Hornets beat Jazz, snap eight-game skid
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Kaman had 27 points and 13 rebounds and the New Orleans Hornets overcame a late Utah rally to down the Jazz, 86-80, on Monday. Gustavo Ayon netted 13 points to go with nine rebounds and three

Hornets' Gordon to have surgery, out another six weeks >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Hornets shooting guard Eric Gordon will miss another six weeks after he undergoes arthroscopic surgery on his right knee Tuesday. Gordon first suffered the injury in the season opener against Ph

Lee leads Warriors over Suns >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - David Lee finished with 28 points and 12 rebounds and the Warriors snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Suns with a 102-96 victory. Monta Ellis chipped in 18 points and Klay Thompson netted 10

Canucks edge Coyotes in lengthy shootout >>
Vancouver, BC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ryan Kesler scored the game-winning goal in the sixth round of the shootout as the Vancouver Canucks edged the Phoenix Coyotes, 2-1, at Rogers Arena. Kesler moved in slowly and fired a quick wrist sho

Anderson passes first-round test in San Jose >>
San Jose, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Fifth-seeded Kevin Anderson outlasted Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-3) in first-round action at the SAP Open on Monday. Dimitrov cruised in the first set before losing a second-set t

Hornets' Gordon sidelined six weeks after surgery >>
New Orleans, LA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - New Orleans Hornets guard Eric Gordon is expected to be sidelined for six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery on Tuesday. The Hornets said the procedure was performed "to clean up his r

Sportsbooks to bet on football

Recently I had an email debate with an angry reader who said I did not understand "the science of oddsmaking", as he called it.

He said I was wrong for suggesting oddsmakers care about who wins or loses games.

"Oddsmakers only care about splitting the betting public 50/50 on both sides of the line and keeping the commission (a.k.a. juice)," he wrote.

He might have been right about not understanding "the science of oddsmaking". After all, I'm not an oddsmaker. That said, I stick to my assertion that oddsmakers (a.k.a. sportbooks) often do care about who wins games.

Granted, as a general rule, sportsbooks try to balance their action so that they're not exposed to big losses. However, there are times when this is difficult to pull off, regardless of how much a line has moved. There are also times when that general rule is ignored and a book pursues risk.

Generally speaking, it's safe to say the books in Vegas are risk-adverse. Unlike in the past when the wise guys ruled the town, Vegas is now corporate and the goal of most casinos is to make as much money as possible with as little risk as possible.

Thus, Vegas sportsbooks try everything in their power to balance the action. They're satisfied simply collecting the juice. But these profits are small, especially compared to the take from other casino games, namely slot machines.

Because the profits at Vegas sportsbooks are so small, you could argue that many casinos operate sportsbooks simply as a novelty to keep the tourists happy.

With a growing aversion to risk, it should come as no surprise that Vegas bookmakers have been panicking this NFL season.

Despite huge pointspreads, a disproportionate percentage of bettors are still laying their money on favorites like the Eagles, Colts, Pats and Vikings rather than the dogs (a common trend for the largely recreational bettors that visit Vegas).

And much to the dismay of the books, those favorites are finding ways to cover the thick chalk. In fact, prior to Week 7, the four teams listed above are a combined 16-2-2 (88 percent) against the spread. (The tables turned dramatically in Week 7, but more on that later.)

The result has been an early-season beating for the books, and a bonanza for bettors.

While Vegas increasingly hates risk, it's no longer a major player in the sports betting world. Most of the betting action now takes place offshore where sportsbooks are not as obsessed about balance. In fact, some books encourage exposure to risk because the rewards can be so much bigger.

Consider MySportsbook.com. On its website, the book has odds pages which actually display the amount of action it's getting on games. In other words, you can see how much action the book is taking on both sides of a pointspread, moneyline or over/under.

One look at these numbers and it's obvious MySportsbook.com does not balance every game. In fact, far from it.

Take last weekend's matchup between St. Louis and Miami. By game time on Sunday, 83 percent of the betting action at MySportsbook.com was on the Rams; only 17 percent was on Miami.

What's interesting is that MySportsbook.com opened the pointspread with Miami at +6 1/2. By game time, the spread had lowered to +5.

That goes contrary to the balancing theory. If MySportsbook.com had wanted to balance the action, it would have given Miami more points; instead, it took away 1 1/2. World Series odds are now up as well.

MySportsbook.com exposed itself to even more to risk, and rolled the dice on the underdog Dolphins. Why? I contacted a representative with the book to find out. His answer was simple.

"The line moved early based on 'smart money' from sharp players," said Jeff Gilroy, a spokesperson for the book. "We also knew from early in the week that we would need Miami, therefore (we dropped) the spread to encourage Rams money.

"At the end of the day, we liked the home team."

So the conclusion is this: MySportsbook.com respected the sharp action, and gambled that the sharp bettors had a better take on the game than the recreational bettors, who were hammering the visiting Rams.

In the end, the gamble paid off. Miami, desperate for a win in front of its home fans, pounded the overrated Rams, who are terrible on the road and even worse on grass. Final score: 31-14 Fish.

MySportsbook.com was also heavily exposed on numerous favorites in Week 7, including Philadelphia, Seattle and Denver. All three failed to cover.

The fact that sportsbooks are exposed to risk on certain games is really nothing new. The fact, that Sportsbook.com is willing to show the public where it's exposed is intriguing.

Armed with this type of information, bettors can make more educated wagers. They can get an idea where the sharp money is going and conversely where the public money is headed.

MySportsbook.com is opening up its cashbox, letting bettors look inside and challenging them to take their best shot at grabbing the cash.

To visit this online football betting got to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting odds needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.

MySportsbook features easy-to-use online betting software that’s the most reliable in the industry. If you’re looking to bet underdogs, then this Sportsbook is the place - we have the best betting lines in the business. MySportsbook is your one-stop shop for all your betting needs - sports betting, poker, casino, and horse betting . MySportsbook offers every bet type with lightning fast settlement of wagers. Take advantage of free statistical analysis - including against-the-spread and straight-up trends - in MySportsbook’s game previews section. With MySportsbook there are unlimited free deposits and payouts - and no transaction fees!

To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your football sportsbook needs.