Bulls coast past ailing Pacers
Basketball Betting Lines
12/12/2006 -
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ben Gordon scored 23 points and was one of
seven Bulls players to post double-digit points as Chicago toppled the short-
handed Indiana Pacers, 106-91, at the United Center.
Luol Deng netted 22 points while Andres Nocioni donated 19 for the Bulls, who
have won three straight against Indiana for the first time since the 1996-97
season.
Chris Duhon, Kirk Hinrich, Ben Wallace and P.J. Brown each contributed 10
points in the win.
Chicago shot an impressive 57 percent from the field.
Indiana was without Al Harrington and Marquis Daniels, both of whom missed the
game due to a stomach ailment that has surrounded the team. Jermaine O'Neal,
also sickened, sat out his third straight game with a sore left hamstring.
The Pacers were also without guard Stephen Jackson, who served a one-game
suspension for conduct detrimental to the team during Saturday's 107-75 loss
to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Jamaal Tinsley was also affected by the illness, but did play and had 21
points with six assists. Danny Granger had 21 points as well while Sarunas
Jasikevicius posted 15 and Shawne Williams netted 13 for Indiana, which has
dropped two in a row and five of its last seven.
Maceo Baston scored 12 points and pulled down four rebounds in defeat.
The game was essentially over from the start as Chicago went on a 16-5
scamper in the first quarter, capped by a jumper and dunk from Deng late in
the first en route to a 42-25 advantage going into the second.
Nocioni finished with 11 points and Deng had 10 in a dominating opening
quarter.
The Pacers continued to trail by double digits in the second and were faced
with a 66-50 halftime deficit.
In the third, Granger's three-pointer with 6 1/2 minutes remaining got Indiana
within 10, 73-63, but Gordon responded by scoring nine points as the Bulls
maintained an 89-75 edge after three and cruised to victory in the final
period.
Indiana finished 51 percent shooting.
Game Notes
Gordon finished 7-of-13 shooting...Granger shot 8-of-14 from the
floor...Wallace also grabbed 13 boards...Hinrich had nine assists.
<< Blues fire Kitchen; hire Andy Murray
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Blues have fired head coach
Mike Kitchen, replacing him with former Kings head coach Andy Murray,
president of hockey operations John Davidson announced on Monday.
Per team policy,
<< Paul stars as Hornets edge Cavs
Oklahoma City, OK (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Chris Paul scored 30 points and doled out
11 assists to lead the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets to a 95-89 victory
over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Anderson Varejao's 17 points and eight rebounds le
<< Wade and Heat down Raptors
Miami, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Dwyane Wade poured in a season-high 37 points as
Miami dominated Toronto, 99-77, at AmericanAirlines Arena.
Wade finished 13-of-21 shooting and went 11-of-13 from the charity stripe
while Alonzo Mourning
<< Malkin lifts Penguins over Capitals in shootout thriller
Washington, DC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Evgeni Malkin's goal in the third round of
the shootout provided the Pittsburgh Penguins with an incredible come-from-
behind 5-4 win over the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center.
Malkin and Sidn
<< Pierce, Celtics hold off Knicks
New York, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Paul Pierce had 31 points and seven rebounds
as the Boston Celtics held on to defeat the New York Knicks, 97-90, at Madison
Square Garden.
Al Jefferson added 14 points and 12 boards for Boston, which won
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Salt Lake City, UT (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jerry Sloan reached one of the NBA's
most significant coaching milestones, becoming the fifth head coach in league
history to achieve 1,000 career wins, when his Utah Jazz topped the Dallas
Maveric
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St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Rookie Devin Hester returned two kickoffs for
touchdowns as Chicago throttled St. Louis, 42-27, at the Edward Jones Dome.
The two scores gave the dynamic Hester six return touchdowns on the season,
a new N
No. 22 Oregon routs Bethune-Cookman to remain unbeaten >>
Eugene, OR (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bryce Taylor had 21 points to lead 22nd-ranked
Oregon over Bethune-Cookman, 92-64, at McArthur Court.
Joevan Catron added 15 points for the Ducks (8-0), who continued their best
start to a season in 10 y
Cleveland Browns >>
Placed defensive tackle Orpheus Royte and safety Brian Russell on injured reserve; signed defensive tackle Orien Harris and safety Ben Emanuel.
Chicago Bulls >>
-Assigned center Martynas Andriuskevicius to Dakota (NBADL).
Pacific-10 Conference odds
Teams that should be in: Stanford
 Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.
Should be in:
Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.
| Southeastern Conference odds |
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State
 It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.
Work left to do:
Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.
Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.
Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.
Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile. |
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