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05/13/2007 - East Rutherford, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Jason Kidd recorded his 11th career playoff triple-double, and the New Jersey Nets avoided a huge three-game hole in their Eastern Conference semifinal series with a 96-85 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Kidd finished with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists for the Nets, who dominated from the opening tip off and pulled within 2-1 in the best-of-seven set. Kidd passed Larry Bird for second on the NBA's all-time list for most triple-doubles in the playoffs. Magic Johnson holds the top spot with 30.
Vince Carter, who suffered a sprained finger on his left hand in the third quarter but returned in the fourth, finished with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists. Richard Jefferson was a force inside with 23 points and eight rebounds for New Jersey, which dominated on the boards, 43-30, and shot 47 percent in the contest.
Larry Hughes led the way with 23 points for Cleveland, which saw its franchise-record six-game playoff winning streak come to an end. LeBron James was held under the 20-point plateau, finishing the night with 18 points and 12 assists.
The loss also snapped a 10-game winning streak for the Cavs that dated to the end of the regular season.
Game 4 of this best-of-seven series is scheduled for Monday at Continental Airlines Arena.
Ahead by two at the half, New Jersey's lead swelled to 10 on Mikki Moore's reverse layup just minutes into the third. Hughes hit back-to-back jumpers to stop the bleeding for Cleveland. A pair of Zydrunas Ilgauskas' free throws cut it to 58-51 at 7:22, but a 12-4 run by the Nets boosted their lead to 70-55.
The Cavs got within 74-63 at the end of the third.
New Jersey stumbled to open the fourth, and the Cavs started to pour it on. Anderson Varejao hit a pair of free throws and a layup to cut it to 77-70, and James got back into the act with a three-point shot to trim the margin to four before the Nets responded.
A wide-open lane for Moore resulted in a one-handed slam, Carter knocked down a baseline jumper, and a Kidd-to-Carter connection resulted in the easy dunk to make it 83-73 with 5:30 remaining in the game. Jefferson's driving layup extended the run for a 12-point cushion.
The Cavs never got closer than eight the rest of the way.
Moore finished with 11 points for the Nets. Drew Gooden had 12 points, Ilgauskas had 11 and Varejao finished with eight for Cleveland, which shot 41 percent in the contest.
Already up 9-4, Moore's sensational driving dunk gave the Nets an early seven- point cushion. Kidd followed with a three-point shot off a Hughes' miss at the other end, and Carter's free throw put the exclamation point on a 13-2 run and 11-point New Jersey lead.
Cleveland came back with a brief 5-0 spurt to pull within six, but the Nets continued to move the ball and run the court, something they failed to do in the first two games. The Cavs scored the final four of the first, but James failed to get off a one-handed layup at the buzzer and the squad trailed 22-15.
Antoine Wright drilled a three for a 31-19 New Jersey edge in the second, and Carter followed by making one-of-two from the line. Ilgauskas then made both of his shots from the charity stripe, igniting an 18-5 run by Cleveland. Hughes' jumper gave the Cavs their first lead of the afternoon, 38-37, with 3:01 left in the half and James made of pair of free throws to cap the rally.
Kidd's trey quickly tied the game and started an 8-3 sprint, and New Jersey held a 45-43 lead at intermission.
Game Notes
James had the lowest-scoring postseason game of his career. He was just 5- of-16 from the field...The Nets have never come back to win a playoff series after losing the first two games of the set...Cleveland has never dropped a series in the postseason after winning the first two games of the set...Kidd had five three-pointers in the contest, one shy of a franchise playoff record.
<< Indians overcome early deficit to top A's
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Josh Barfield tripled twice and drove in two
runs as Cleveland overcame a three-run first-inning deficit to trip Oakland,
6-3, in the middle of three games between the clubs.
Jason Michaels was 3-for-5 a
<< Toronto earns first win in franchise history
Toronto, Ontario (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Finally, Toronto FC, Major League Soccer's
newest franchise, has something to celebrate. On Saturday afternoon at BMO
Field, here, the team scored its first goal in franchise history en route to
its fi
<< Tigers hammer Twins; Morneau breaks nose
Minneapolis, MN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Craig Monroe went 3-for-4 with a two-run
home run, as the Detroit Tigers hammered the Minnesota Twins, 8-2, in the
second of a three-game series at the Metrodome.
Magglio Ordonez had two hits and
<< Colon, Angels continue domination of Rangers
Arlington, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Bartolo Colon and the Los Angeles Angels of
Anaheim continued their success against the Texas Rangers with a 6-3 victory,
as the teams played the second contest of a four-game series.
The Angels may have
Federer splits with coach >>
Basel, Switzerland (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - World No. 1 Roger Federer and Tony Roche
have mutually decided to end their 2 1/2 year long part-time coaching
arrangement.
During the time Roche was coaching Federer, the Swiss rolled throug
"The Natural": Dobbs leads Phils to comeback win over Cubs >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Greg Dobbs had a career-high four hits
with two RBI and scored twice as the Phillies blew a four-run lead but rallied
to top the Cubs, 11-7, in the second of three at Citizens Bank Park.
Abraham Nunez
Rain forces postponement of Nextel Cup race >>
Darlington, SC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The NASCAR Nextel Cup race scheduled to be
run on Saturday night at the Darlington Raceway was postponed due to a heavy
rainstorm which started early in the day. The rain continued throughout the
evening and th
Phillies place Howard on DL >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia Phillies placed first
baseman Ryan Howard on the 15-day disabled list on Saturday with a left
quadriceps strain.
The move, made following the Phils' 11-7 win over the Chi
MySportsbook.com Posts Heisman Trophy Odds
With 3,919 passing yards, 32 touchdowns and a mere seven interceptions last season, combined with a powerful South Bend Heisman legacy, odds makers at MySportsbook.com have given Notre Dame senior quarterback Brady Quinn the best Heisman Trophy odds at 5-2.
Quinn isn’t the only big man on campus this season. Oklahoma junior running back and 2004 Heisman runner-up Adrian Peterson, listed at 7-2, rushed for a combined 3,033 yards in his first two years as a college player and will give Quinn a run for his money.
This online sportsbook has also listed Troy Smith, Ohio State senior quarterback, as another strong favorite to win the 72nd Heisman Trophy. A 7-1 bet, Smith threw for 2,282 yards last season and also led the Buckeyes to a convincing 34-20 victory over Quinn and the Fighting Irish in last season’s Fiesta Bowl.
Current betting odds Heisman trophy are:
| Brady Quinn (QB, Notre Dame) Adrian Peterson (RB, Oklahoma) Troy Smith (QB, Ohio State) Michael Bush (RB, Louisville) Steve Slaton (RB, West Virginia) Brian Brohm (QB, Louisville) Chris Leak (QB, Florida) Mike Hart (RB, Michigan) Ted Ginn (WR, Ohio State) Darius Walker (RB, Notre Dame) Drew Tate (QB, Iowa) Marshawn Lynch (RB, Cal) Kenny Irons (RB, Auburn) Chad Henne (QB, Michigan) Kyle Wright (QB, Miami) Drew Stanton (QB, Michigan State) Kenneth Darby (RB, Alabama) JaMarcus Russell (QB, LSU) Drew Weatherford (QB, Florida State) Blake Mitchell (QB, South Carolina) Reggie Ball (QB, Georgia Tech) |
5-2 7-2 7-1 10-1 10-1 12-1 12-1 18-1 18-1 20-1 30-1 35-1 35-1 40-1 50-1 50-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 60-1 |
For complete NCAA Football odds visit MySportsbook.com.
NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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