Bryant and Lakers hang on against Warriors

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03/16/2010 - Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kobe Bryant scored 29 points and the Los Angeles Lakers held on for a 124-121 win over Golden State, their ninth straight win over the Warriors.

Pau Gasol added 26 points, while Andrew Bynum contributed 19 points and 14 rebounds, as the Lakers posted their third straight victory. Lamar Odom totaled 17 points and 12 boards in the win.

Stephen Curry ended with 29 points and nine rebounds for the Warriors, who lost for the seventh time in eight contests. Chris Hunter had a career- best 22 points, but Monta Ellis struggled in a big way for Golden State, going 5-of-23 from the field in a 13-point effort.

Ellis' driving layup moved the Warriors within 123-121 with 10.6 seconds left, and the door was left open for the home team when Bryant went 1-of-2 at the foul line with 8.6 on the clock.

Curry then missed a three-point shot, but Ellis got the long rebound and race to the top of the arc. The attempt from Ellis bounced three times off the rim before finally falling away as the horn sounded.

The Lakers shot a sizzling 13-of-19 from the field in the third quarter to turn a six-point halftime deficit into a seven-point lead moving to the fourth. Derek Fisher scored all of his nine points in the period.

Bryant's layup capped a string of 12 straight points for LA, which rallied for a 79-74 lead at the midway point of the quarter.

Ahead 94-87 going to the fourth, the Lakers widened their lead to double digits at 100-90 on Odom's layup two minutes into the stanza. Golden State scored 10 of the next 11 points, but the see-saw continued with the Lakers gaining a 121-110 lead on a pair of Gasol free throws with two minutes to go.

One last rally from the Warriors fell short.

The Lakers held a 39-32 lead after 12 minutes, but the Warriors scored nine in a row late in the second to take a 63-57 lead. It was 65-59 at halftime.

Game Notes

The Warriors forced 24 turnovers, converting that to 29 points. Bryant had nine turnovers and Bynum eight...Ellis also had 11 assists and five steals...Corey Maggette scored 18 for the Warriors, who went 13-of-30 from three-point range.

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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.