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02/21/2012 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - What a difference a day makes.
Kobe Bryant, just 24 hours after expressing his displeasure regarding the Lakers' handling of star forward Pau Gasol, was all smiles after scoring 28 points in Los Angeles' 103-92 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday.
Gasol, mired in trade talks throughout the season, totaled 16 points and 12 rebounds, while Andrew Bynum added 14 and 19 in the win, the Lakers' fourth in five games.
Steve Blake scored 14 of his 17 points in a first half that saw the hosts lead by as many as 30. The Blazers' comeback ultimately came up short and they fell for the fourth time in six games.
"In the first half, that's the best we played, especially defensively," Bryant said. "We came out with great energy."
LaMarcus Aldridge and Nicolas Batum paced Portland with 18 points apiece.
Prior to the game, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak responded to Bryant's comments by saying it would serve no purpose to announce publicly whether or not the team will deal Gasol.
A roster shakeup didn't appear necessary the way the Lakers opened Monday's contest.
Portland put itself in a hole in the first quarter, hitting just 3-of-17 (18 percent) from the field. The Lakers had separate runs of 10 and 13 points during the Blazers' slow start and cruised to a healthy 29-7 lead.
"We didn't come out ready to play. I thought we started the All-Star break early," Blazers head coach Nate McMillan said.
Blake began the second quarter with a pair of three-pointers, and two Bynum free throws pushed the margin to 30 a little later.
Batum halted an eight-minute scoreless drought with a jumper, but the Blazers were still down, 52-30, at halftime.
Seven Portland three-pointers in the third, including Batum's trey in the closing seconds, helped close the gap to 80-66 with 12 minutes to play.
The Blazers had several chances to pull within single digits in the fourth. Jamal Crawford turned the ball over trailing 84-74, and the Lakers scored the next six points, going up 90-74 on Bryant's jumper at the midway point.
With 3 1/2 minutes to play, Wesley Matthews missed a three-pointer that could have cut the deficit to nine, and again LA responded with six of the next seven points to pull away for good.
Game Notes
The Lakers close out the first half of the season with a visit to Dallas on Wednesday, while Portland hosts the Spurs on Tuesday in its final game before the All-Star break...The Lakers improved to 14-2 at home...The Lakers are 5-0 when scoring over 100 points...The Blazers announced Monday that center Greg Oden will miss the remainder of the season after having microfracture surgery on his left knee. This was the fifth surgery the 7-foot Oden has endured since he was taken by the Blazers with the first pick in the 2007 draft.
<< Vinci, Errani advance at Monterrey
Monterrey, Mexico (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Top-seeded Roberta Vinci advanced to the
second round at the $220,000 Monterrey Open on Monday.
The Italian defeated American Coco Vandeweghe in 7-5, 7-5 fashion on the
hardcourts at Sierra Madre T
<< Top-seed Petrova ousted in Memphis first round
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Italian qualifier Camila Giorgi sent top-seeded
Russian Nadia Petrova packing in the first round at the $220,000 Memphis
International tennis event.
Giorgi ousted the former world No. 3 Petrova in straig
<< No. 13 Baylor outlasts Texas
Austin, TX (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Quincy Acy carried No. 13 Baylor to a comeback
win, a hard-fought 77-72 victory over in-state rival Texas sealed by Pierre
Jackson's clinching free throws in the final minute.
Acy made up for poor shootin
<< Nuggets slip by T'Wolves in OT
Denver, CO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Arron Afflalo drained the go-ahead shot with
33.7 seconds remaining in overtime and the Denver Nuggets outlasted the
Minnesota Timberwolves, 103-101, on Monday.
Afflalo had 20 points overall and Al
Local rivals collide in Raleigh >>
Raleigh, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The seventh-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels
continue their run toward the ACC regular-season title, as they make the short
trip to Raleigh to take on rival NC State in a conference battle at the RBC
Center.
Ro
Top-ranked Kentucky eyes up SEC crown >>
Starkville, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Sporting the nation's longest win streak,
the top-ranked Kentucky Wildcats are closing in on an SEC regular-season title
and hope to gain at least a share of the conference crown this evening, as
they take on t
Instate rivals clash in ACC affair >>
Blacksburg, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Virginia Tech Hokies shoot for back-to-
back wins for the first time in 2012 as they host the 25th-ranked Virginia
Cavaliers in ACC action tonight at Cassell Coliseum.
VaTech, which has won a total of ju
Wolverines meet Wildcats in Big Ten action >>
Evanston, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Riding a three-game win streak, the 11th-
ranked Michigan Wolverines try to make it a clean sweep of Northwestern, as
the two Big Ten programs clash at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston tonight.
Michigan, now tied
BILLS (+10) at Steelers SPORTSBOOK LINES
It's impossible to gauge how a team will react after something like the Steve Everett situation, and it probably doesn't matter. That being said, the Bills are going to lose several games this year where they keep things close but fall short in the end to superior teams. Ben Roethlisberger and company could have a field day against Buffalo's decimated defense, but I like the Bills to cover.
BENGALS (-7) at Browns SPORTSBOOK LINES
All you can ask out of your NFL team is that it has a plan. You may not always agree with it as a fan, but as long as it appears the organization is going in some sort of direction, you have to go with it. Which brings us to the Cleveland Browns. You flip a coin to determine whether Chuck Frye or Derek Anderson should start the preseason opener. You start Frye in Week 1, but pull him in the first half. And then you deal him to the Seahawks for a sixth-round pick? Hmm... the Bengals could get six turnovers again this week.
COLTS (-7) at Titans SPORTSBOOK LINES
Tennessee signed ex-Colts cornerback Nick Harper in the offseason so that should help slow down Peyton Manning. Just ask Jason David and the Saints. Oh wait... One of these weeks, I'm going to learn to not pick against Tennessee, which has won seven of its last eight games. But it's not happening against Indy.
TEXANS (+6.5) at Panthers SPORTSBOOK LINES
Houston's Mario Williams, the first pick in the '06 draft, has more touchdowns than Reggie Bush after one week. Somehow I don't see that lasting. Meanwhile, Carolina bottled up what was expected to be a pretty high-octane offense in St. Louis in Week 1. Could this be the Panthers' defense everyone expected last year? Maybe. This feels like a 20-16 Carolina win.
RAMS (-3) vs. 49ers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Absolutely love this game. Everyone's favorite pick for this year's surprise team -- the 49ers -- laid an egg on Monday night (not that anyone was watching with the game ending in the middle of the night for those of us on the East Coast). St. Louis wasn't much better, delivering a lackluster effort against the Panthers that included two Steven Jackson fumbles and panic from his fantasy owners. Jackson rebounds this week, and the Rams get their first win.
PACKERS (+1.5) at Giants SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Do you really trust this guy to win an NFL game if Eli Manning can't go? I say no. I'd feel alot better about this Packers team if it had any semblance of a running game, but I still think Green Bay's defense is good enough to give it a 2-0 start.
JAGUARS (-10) vs. Falcons SPORTSBOOKS LINES
Does it scare me to pick Jacksonville to cover a double-digit spread after it scored just 10 points last week against the Titans? Absolutely. But can I bring myself to pick Atlanta under any circumstances? No. Check out this poll on ajc.com. It asks what Atlanta's most urgent deficiency is: offense, defense, specials teams or all of the above. "All of the above" has 57 percent of the votes. Ouch.
SAINTS (-3) at Buccaneers SPORTSBOOKS LINES
I'm picking way too many road teams this week. Oh well. New Orleans has had some time to reflect on its lackluster showing in the opener, and the Buccanneers just aren't a very good football team. Anyone else surprised Tampa Bay hasn't made a move to sign Byron Leftwich? I thought that's what they do.
VIKINGS (+3) at Lions SPORTS BETTING LINES
Run the ball and stop the run. Minnesota can do both, and that will keep them in a lot of games this season. Even though it was only one week, Adrian Peterson looks like he was a steal at No. 7 in last year's draft. Not only will he produce, but Peterson delivers excitement to what otherwise would be one of the league's most boring teams.
DOLPHINS (+3.5) vs. Cowboys SPORTS BETTING LINES
Lost in the Tony Romo lovefest is just how bad the Cowboys' defense was last week. I know they're banged up, but Dallas' 'D' allowed 438 yards to the Giants' offense, and backup running back Derrick Ward averaged 6.8 yards per carry. Meanwhile, Cam Cameron's decision to split carries between Ronnie Brown and Jesse Chatman sounds about as can't-miss as Larry David's plan to show up to Marty Funkhouser's party a night late. Still, gotta go with Miami to cover at home.
SEAHAWKS (-2.5) at Cardinals SPORTS BETTING LINES
I'm probably missing something, but this game seems too easy. Arizona blew Monday night's game against the 49ers in typical Cardinals fashion, and the Seahawks beat Tampa Bay by two touchdowns. Love Seattle in this one.
BRONCOS (-9.5) vs. Raiders SPORTS BETTING LINES
Special teams was a major story line in Week 1. Take a look at the Broncos. They had to rush on to the field to get a Jason Elam field goal as time expired against the Bills. Denver drove into Buffalo territory on eight of 10 drives but came away with just a pair of field goals and a touchdown. Look for more scoring from the Broncos this week against an Oakland defense that gave up 36 points to Detroit in Week 1.
BEARS (-12) vs. Chiefs SPORTS BETTING LINES
Everyone talks about Rex Grossman when dissecting the Bears' offense, but Chicago's quarterback got no help in last week's loss to the Chargers. Meanwhile, Kansas City confirmed what we all thought while watching Hard Knocks: The Chiefs are going to stink this year. It could be a rough first month for Larry Johnson fantasy owners. Kansas City's RB was limited to 43 yards on 10 carries in Week 1, and the Chiefs face the Bears, Vikings and Chargers the next three weeks, all formidable run defenses.
RAVENS (-10) vs. Jets SPORTS BETTING LINES
A big dose of Willis McGahee and a usual sound defensive effort will give the Ravens their first win. According to Football Outsiders, no team in the NFL rushed only three defenders on pass plays last year more than the Jets. And according to my special Jets correspondent Ben Stauber, New York did the same in Week 1. Whoever starts at quarterback for the Ravens should have all day to throw.
PATRIOTS (-3) vs. Chargers
Friends and I were discussing how Bill Belichick goes about paying his $500,000 fine for cheating. Does he just write one check to the NFL? Do you need some sort of clearance to make such a monstrous financial transaction? I guess I shouldn't complain about the security deposit I have to put down on my new apartment. Anyway, two of the league's best teams square off in what should be a good one Sunday night. The Patriots always respond well just when you think they're in trouble. And their offensive attack was the story in Week 1.
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting.
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